


Kindle

by glitzyena



Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst, Elemental Magic, F/F, Flashbacks, Sorcerers, Sorceresses, Superpowers, Tournaments, cameos of x1, pyrokinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 58,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitzyena/pseuds/glitzyena
Summary: Amidst numerous, daily humdrum tasks such as trying to put food on the table, running away from people screaming for your painful death, and causing the occasional controlled explosion, Yena finds herself trapped by the gloomy clutches of loneliness. When she's whisked off to a mysterious island with the promise of wealth and fortune, she's got one thing on her mind - turning her life around. That is, until she meets Jo Yuri, a bender of light... and of Yena's heart. Yena slowly learns that no matter how fast you run, you can't escape time."Rekindle a fire, extinguish a love,"
Relationships: Ahn Yujin/Jang Wonyoung, Choi Yena/Jo Yuri, Choi Yena/Kim Sihyeon/Wang Yiren, Kang Hyewon/Miyawaki Sakura, Kim Chaewon (IZONE)/Kim Minju
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. Conflagration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which time is a funny thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! for this story, the chapters are quite short, usually between 2 and 4k, but i try to make up for this by usually posting about three times a week, usually on tuesdays, thursdays, and either saturdays or sundays. of course, i can't keep to this schedule 100% of the time due to the laughable and totally unsavable mess that is my life, so if i miss a day it's probably for a good reason and definitely not because i got lazy :))
> 
> with that out of the way, get ready for a big dump of plot and a whole lot of emo yena because that's all this story really is tbh. enjoy! (?)
> 
> -glitz
> 
> [my twitter!](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)  
> 

Yena's never really given time much thought before, but right now, she really wishes she were able to turn back the clock and choose to run down the alleyway on her right instead of on the left.

Her heartbeat thumps erratically in her ears as harsh breaths are pumped from her lungs, her rapid footsteps loud on the concrete. She checks over her shoulder, a quick whip of her head, and doesn't even register the choked out curse that falls from her lips. She urges herself to run faster, to dig her heels harder into the concrete, trying her best to ignore the pained groans of her muscles, of their insistent pleads for her to stop. Her lungs burn from where they feel like they're trying to break free from the confines of her rib cage, but she keeps on pushing. Hearing the shouts and cries behind her only growing louder, she grits her teeth when she comes to a fork in the road.

The tight, narrow alleyway diverges into two, Yena having no idea where either of them leads. To her, the walls on both sides just look the exact same as the countless others she's seen in this maze of tightly compressed buildings. So, she's faced with a decision.

Left or right.

It's a split second decision really, one that she doesn't really put much thought or consideration into, because when there's a group of guys screaming for your torturous death behind you, you know, shit like that kinda goes out the window. So, for whatever reason it may be, Yena chooses to go down the alleyway on her left.

Her mistake is recognisable almost immediately. Muttering a frustrated "Fucking- _shit_ ," under her breath, Yena skids to a halt, faced with nothing but a large, stone wall looming over her, looking all the more menacing in the night around fifteen yards ahead of her. Her limbs ache with fatigue, her joints like rusted metal with how stiff they are, and every part of her body just _hurts_ so much that the last thing she needs right now is... well, _this_.

"You," a voice behind Yena is dangerously low, snarling, accompanied by loud footsteps and heaving breaths. "Are gonna be so fucking sorry you ever even considered setting foot in that goddamn office," Yena turns around to see a familiar face, a man's, holding her at gunpoint, sweat beading down the side of his face and his teeth bared like a dog. Thinking about it actually, his appearance has always sort of reminded Yena of a rottweiler, or maybe even a rodent of some sort, perfectly matching with his equally charming personality. With beady black eyes that sit small in the middle of his rotund, petulant face, thin, cracked lips, and greased hair that snakes unflatteringly above his ear, you'd think it'd be easy to put a name to such a character.

But Yena's always been forgetful. And right now, she's drawing a total blank when it comes to this guy's name.

She tries to take a step forward, but the men she's faced with all tense at her movement, causing her to halt with her foot still suspended in the air. She makes a face at their threatening scowls, scrunching up her nose and quirking the corner of her upper lip, the man who's name has left her tightening his grip on his pistol. "No moving!" he screeches, and while Yena might not be able to remember his name, she does recall now that his voice had always had a squeaking lilt to it. It's half the reason why she was never able to take him seriously; why she can't take him seriously now. "Not a fucking inch!"

Yena clicks her tongue, but complies with his request. You know, since he's got a gun aimed right at her forehead and all. "Listen, I'm sorry," she pours all of her remorse into her tone, letting her face droop like melting candle wax, her posture slowly hunching. "But my mind is completely failing me at the moment,"

The men seem to be listening to her, turning their heads so that their ears are closer to her, although they keep their grip on the guns and their aim steadily consistent. Yena can see the way their fingers slowly caress the triggers, almost like that of a lover, and the thought alone is enough to make her slightly queasy. Because when it comes men like these, the closest thing they have to a lover is their gun, the thing they treat and look at with mixed emotions of adoration and fear. And Yena doesn't feel that usual, grotesque sensation in her stomach because of the fact that they find a sick sort of love in a weapon of murder. No, she feels sick because it only reminds her that compared to them, she's really no different.

She snaps out of her light daze with a soft shake of her head, seeing that the men are still waiting for her to expand on her previous sentence. "Your name... Jinwoo, was it?" she asks, completely innocent, her expression almost bored.

The man (who's name almost certainly isn't Jinwoo - it had been the first thing to come to Yena's mind) tilts his head to the side, licking vainly at his lips. Irritation and frustration flash menacingly across his features, verging on taken aback, and yeah, Yena can remember now why she's never liked this guy. "Byunghoon," the man rasps, looking like he's trying his absolute best to not throw a fit, probably because of the blow his ego has suffered because of not being remembered.

 _Damn,_ Yena thinks to herself. _Not even close_.

"I'm Byunghoon," Byunghoon repeats, like he's trying to ingrain it into Yena's brain. "And you're a traitor,"

Yena coos mockingly. "How clever of you to notice," she moves a little, partly to gauge a reaction out of them and partly because her left foot is still suspended from when she tried to take a step, much to her right calf's displeasure. They all tense up again, and it's laughable really. She arches a brow at them, putting all her effort into keeping her mouth in a straight line. "You don't mind if I put my foot down, do you?" she asks, and the men share weary, confused looks. Byunghoon looks like that vein pulsing in his temples is about to break through his skin with how furiously it's throbbing. "Surely standing on my own to feet shouldn't warrant my death,"

"Yeah well you know what does?" one of the men bursts out, his free fist balled before he points a finger at Yena accusingly. "Stealing from the fucking boss!" he exclaims, taking a step forward and bringing up both hands to hold his gun. "Give me one fucking reason as to why I shouldn't blow your brains out,"

"Well to start off," Yena responds smoothly, lowering her foot onto the ground, almost able to hear the sigh of relief that her calf emits. "If you kill me, you can kiss that hard drive and your sorry asses goodbye," she says confidently, raising her chin in challenge. "Kill me, and you're all fucked," she purses her lips in faux thought. "Although, now that I think about it, if you _don't_ kill me, you'll only end up in a similar situation, won't you?" she's unable to stop the corners of her lips from quirking, pausing for effect. "Quite the predicament you've got yourselves in, hm?"

"Stop running that big fucking mouth of yours by doing yourself a favour and shutting the fuck up," Byunghoon glowers at her, and if looks could kill Yena would be dead where she stands. "You're gonna give me those damned files or I swear I'll make your life a living hell," Byunghoon glowers, tipping his head back ever so slightly to give himself a taller appearance. "I'll drive you to the very edge, have you fucking _begging_ for death-"

Yena clicks her tongue. "And would you ever believe that you're not the first to tell me that. Crazy right?" she pressed her lips together to prevent her grin from becoming any wider than it already is. "Listen, Jinwoo-"

"Byunghoon! My name is-"

"Oh fuck off, you say it like anyone actually gives a shit," she scoffs. "I know it's hard for you to process because your brain is the same size as your dick, but..." she gives a sharp flick of her wrist. "I think it's _you_ who's made a mistake," bright, amber glows erupt in the form of flames in the night, seemingly out of nowhere, casting tangerine hues onto the scene. Yena narrows her eyes. "You're gonna be sorry you ever even considered following me,"

The men realise what's happening a beat too late, too in shock to piece together what's going on. The fire that had flared from what appeared to be thin air behind them grows at an alarming rate, and the small smile that had been resting playfully on her lips slugishly abates. The fire is wild, raging and writhing uncontrollably as it climbs higher into the air like an angered, rearing horse. The men scream, guns and Yena forgotten, as the fire surges unnaturally towards them, diving to the ground to escape its burning touch. Those who are too slow or don't react fact enough are unlucky enough to have the fire lick hungrily at their skin, guttural screams ripping raw at their throats as blisters blossom at a rapid rate across their charring flesh. The fire just keeps growing, hot enough for Yena to feel the comforting heat of it on her face, watching stoically as the conflagration ensures to wrap each man into its blazing embrace, spreading impossibly large on the concrete, and it's...

 _Beautiful,_ Yena thinks to herself bitterly, biting her lip and looking upwards at the star-studded sky when Byunghoon's piercing wails spear at her auditory canals, ringing inside of her head and bouncing around in her mind. She flicks her eyes down to look at him, just for a moment, and her throat all of a sudden grows tight.

Byunghoon's body has almost been completely been engulfed by the roaring fire, almost like he's being sucked into it like a man drowning at sea. His mouth is open in a scream, although it doesn't _sound_ like screaming anymore. The sounds coming from the men - the ones that still possess the ability to produce sounds, that is - are inhumane, animalistic, and Yena wants so fucking _bad_ to be able to say that she's never heard anything like it before but-

But that simply isn't the case. Not anymore.

Yena can't help but watch as Byunghoon's face chars to a shade of black, the colour reminding Yena of a piece of coal. He's probably lost feeling in most of his body now, she presumes with a tug to her gut, as most of his nerves have probably been destroyed by now. He barely manages to reach out to her, but the movement is there, and even though his eyes are screwed shut she can feel them boring into her soul. Another sound is hacked from somewhere inside of him, a macabre cry that forces Yena to hold her breath for several moments to long.

And then, there's quiet.

The fire blazes, for a while longer, simply because Yena allows it to do so. The soft crackling sounds it emits are almost homely, like the gentle popping noises a fire in the hearth makes on a biting winters night when you're snug in the living room.

Yena opens her palm before quickly squeezing it into a tight fist, and in the blink of an eye, the fire is gone.

The area smells of smoke and burnt flesh, a queasy smell that makes Yena dizzy, the fumes causing her to suck in a breath and hold it defiantly in her lungs. No matter how much curiosity itches at her, she refuses to look down at her feet as she starts to walk forward, her fingernails digging crimson crescents into her palms as she steps over a twitching body. She doesn't notice that she's begun to walk any faster out of the twisting alleyways until she's broken into a jog, into a run, running until her lungs burn and her body is imploring her to rest.

It's not because she was afraid of being caught by those guys in the alleyway, that Yena wishes she could go back in time and choose to turn right instead of left. It's because the moment she did, she knew that there would be a new array of charred, blackened faces that would beseech her for help every time she tries to close her eyes to be added to the endless list she already possesses.

Although, Yena will never know what could have happened, had she chosen to go down the alleyway on her right. She had never even looked.

It's a funny thing, time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)   
>  [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)


	2. Strangers and Kissing in Diners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena meets a peculiar individual.

Yena hikes her hood up higher onto her head, drawing the hem over her fringe to ensure it stays in place. She still smells like smoke, and although she knows that no matter how much she dusts herself down, the smell will still linger no matter what she does. Using her shoulder, she pushes open the door of the 24-hour diner, instantly enveloped by the warming, domestic smell of chicken broth and the sizzling sounds of hot oil. She waits by the entrance, for a moment, hearing the door shut behind her, waiting to see if she sits herself down or if she just chooses herself. The diner is practically empty, for the most part, save for a girl and a boy sat across from each other next to the the wall on the right, speaking in low murmurs and gazing at one another adoringly. The diner isn't boastful, by any means, definitely on the smaller size with worn, rickety tables and fading gingham table cloth. But the food smells mouth wateringly good and the establishment is practically empty, which leaves Yena alone to mingle with her thoughts.

"You can take a seat!" a voice calls from the back kitchen on Yena's left, and she inclines her head to the side to see the stout body of a woman poking out from behind the corner. She flashes Yena a comforting smile. "Take any of the tables that you like, dear. I'll be with you in a moment,"

Yena just about manages to quirk her lips into a half smile, hoping it doesn't look like a grimace, dipping her head with gratitude before the woman disappears around the corner and into the kitchen again. Yena wanders through the tables and towards the back wall, where the booths are lined. To be fair, she's seen tables in worse conditions, because other than its initial shabby appearance this place seems quite clean. Yena plops herself precariously onto the plush seat, mildly surprised at its softness, before folding her arms on the table and burying her face into the crook of her elbow.

She sees Byunghoon's face, singed and bubbling with blisters each time she closes her eyes. She keeps them open.

She breathes in, deep and slow into the lint-dense fabric of her threadbare hoodie, shuddering a little. Her body hasn't quite yet gotten used to the warmer temperature of the diner compared to outside, so despite the fact that her insides are warming, goosebumps still bloom across her skin. Blindly, she reaches into the pocket of her jeans, fishing out a small, black rectangular object. The hard drive containing the majority of that meager street gang's dirtiest deeds had been far too easy, and she'd only been with them for a few months. She shifts her face to the side, so that she can look at it instead of her hoodie. To be honest, it's not all that much to look at, (hard drives usually aren't) but with all the evidence, all the gritty details stored on this thing, Yena doesn't doubt that there's a rival group out there that she can sell this thing to for enough to keep her going for a couple more months. And then... well, she starts the process all over again. Most likely with the group she's sold the information to.

"Tired, dear?"

Yena flinches, sitting bolt upright and clearing her throat, smoothly moving the hand that's holding the hard drive beneath the table. She looks to see the woman from earlier, the same full cheeked smile on her face as she hands Yena a menu. "A little," she responds airily, even though it's probably around two a.m at this stage and being tired is almost a given. She starts to reach out to take the menu before halting. "I um, looked at your menu outside. You have _kogi mandu_?"

The woman seems amused, smile quirking on her lips as she tucks the menu back underneath her elbow and producing a notepad. "We do indeed," she confirms, quickly scribbling on the piece of paper. "Boiled or fried?"

"Boiled, please,"

The woman offers her one last nod of her head before bustling off, Yena able to hear her calling out her order in the kitchen. She shakes her head, before resting it back down into her elbows, but this time facing out at the rest of the diner instead of at the wall of the booth. The lights are low, which had been half the reason Yena had entered this place; everywhere else had lights so searingly bright it seemed like they were trying to recreate the gateways to heaven. But this place is dim, save for cool tones of blue and pink that come form the strips of neon light that line the edge where the walls meet the ceiling. If the food is good she'll have to write down their name somewhere and remember it.

Shaking out her tiredness, Yena sits up, blinking drowsily. She really would've gone home, with how tired she is, but her cupboards are practically empty right now, (Yena had never really thought that having minus numbers in terms of food was even possible, yet adulthood always seems to find a way to surprise her) and she honestly thought she was going to starve to death if she didn't get something filling into her soon.

The diner is consistently silent, save for the crackling of the oil and flushing sounds of steam, so it's easy for Yena to hear those strange noises once she does. Frowning, she scoots to the edge of her booth to investigate, and merely sighs at the sight she's presented with. The boy and the girl from earlier have leaned across the table for their lips to meet halfway, kissing much more intimately than what one might consider decorous in such a public space. The sounds of their lips gliding against each others' fill the gaps of the silence that the diner possesses, obnoxious and ridiculously _loud_ but it's not like Yena gives two fucks. Why would she?

She scoffs to herself, scooting back into the middle of the booth so that the couple are out of sight, smiling bitterly and leaning her head back against the backrest behind her. _Why should I care?_ She muses mockingly, picking at a loose thread on her hoodie, and finds to no real surprise that there's a teeming list of reasons as to why she should.

And Yena _does._

It's not about them being so... like _that_ in such a public space. That's something that no matter how mildly off putting it is, it's not much of a bother to her. It doesn't take much for it to dawn on Yena that, she's undeniably, caustically _envious._

Because shit, what more could someone want from a life like this?

Someone who won't question your two a.m decision to go buy cheap food in shitty diners, just because you feel like it, someone who'll go right along with you, someone who'll kiss you across your steaming bowl because they _want_ to. But trust in this world lies thin and bare, and having anyone close just results in a constant state of paranoia and fear.

"Is this seat taken?"

Yena curses herself mentally, too wrapped up in her own state of self pity to even notice what was going on in the world outside of her own little bubble. She turns her head slightly to see who'd spoken and-

Well.Shit _._

Just short of Yena's table stands a girl, and like, _fuck._ She's got to be one of the most beautiful people she's ever seen. Despite Yena's dumb reaction, a gentle, soothing smile plays on the girl's lips, something so heart wrenchingly _kind_ about the way she contorts her features to an expression so soft. Her hair is the colour of milk chocolate, sleek and brushing against her shoulders as she shifts her weight from one foot to another, running a hand through it absent mindedly. She's dressed immaculately for such a peculiar hour, soft, pale pink makeup done to a tee. She's wearing a long, brown coat that reaches the backs of her calves, kind of like the ones you see in old detective movies except all the more stylish, paired with jeans, boots, and _fuck_ , that ever growing smile. She can't be much older than Yena herself

If Yena was dumb, she might have fallen for the girl then and there.

Instead, she narrows her eyes. "The entire place is free. Why do you need to sit here?"

The girl's eyes gleam mischievously. "I'm well aware," she responds, tone light and sweet. "No need to get all up in flames about it,"

It takes a moment for Yena to process her words properly, not all too sure if her brain is so tired that it's just making shit up at this stage. But, she's unable to prevent her eyes from going wide at the obvious play on words, and the knowing look on the girl's face tells her everything she needs to know. The girl nods to herself. "Can I sit down now?"

Yena curses under her breath, peeking out the side of the booth to see if anyone's looking, (they're not, but the couple are still kissing. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yena wonders if they even need to breath) before grasping sharply at the cuff of the girl's jacket, subconsciously registering that the material is expensive feeling, thick and warm. She tugs the girl to sit opposite her, gaze hard, leaning across the table and hissing "What the fuck do you know?"

The girl merely yawns. "Damn, _relax_ ," she drawls, leaning back and hooking one leg over the other, inspecting at her nails. "Are you always this uptight?" she asks, her voice clearly teasing, but it does nothing to to take away from Yena's anxiety because _fuck fuck fucking shit,_ this girl _knows_.

"I asked you a question," Yena keeps her tone steady, low, trying her very best not to let her temper explode.

The girl hums in thought, taking her eyes away from her nails and focusing her gaze on Yena. Now, with their gazes locked, Yena feels almost intimidated. The girl, with just one look, makes her feel pinned, trapped, like prey that has just locked eyes with its predator. "You did, didn't you?" the girl sighs. "And I suppose the least I can do for letting me sit here is offer you an explanation, hm?"

Yena keeps quiet, but balls her fists beneath the table, and the girl takes this as a signal to continue.

"I know everything about you, if I'm honest. Well," she tilts her head. "By that I mean I know of your pyrokinesis,"

Yena grits her teeth. "Can you be any louder?" she bites out, maybe a bit too spitefully, however if the girl notices she doesn't make any comment about it.

"Most people don't even know what pyrokinesis even is," the girl says languidly. "And those that do hardly think it's real,"

Yena runs a hand through her hair, gripping tight at the roots by her scalp to keep her hands busy. "Let me rephrase," she surprises herself with how level her voice is. " _How_ do you know about me?"

The girl giggles at that, sounding like the tinkling of wind chimes in the breeze, and everything about this girl is so _delicate_ and _elegant_ that it's _scary_. "I know all about people like you," she whispers it like it's a secret, looking very much amused by the situation.

Yena however, is still in the dark. She's completely and utterly confused, and frightened because the girl _knows_. Her palms grow sweaty, because there's no way. There's simply no fucking way that there's other people similar to her in anyway, because that's been the only thing that's kept her street smart for so long. But now, here's this complete stranger, coming up to her and telling her that she not only somehow knows about Yena's abilities, but that she knows all about others who are like her too.

"Of course, the others can't control fire. That's reserved for you and you only," the girl winks at her playfully. "But they can manipulate other things instead," she leans in closer across the table. "The water you drink, the stars above your head, the very ground beneath your feet," she speaks below a breath, and she's got Yena hooked.

"How can I..?" Yena struggles for the right words, but the girl seems to have her covered.

"How can you meet them? See them?" she prompts, leaning back into her seat, and Yena nods. "Well, that's what I'm here for," she reaches into the inside pocket of her jacket, leafing around inside as she purses her lips, before letting out a cute little "Aha!" before producing a small, black card. She places it on the table. "We have a little, how should I put it? Event, let's say, planned for tomorrow night," she slides the card across, towards Yena. "Nine p.m sharp, on the docks. Come alone," the girl arches a brow. "Think you can make it?"

Yena blinks at her, in total shock. "I- I mean _yes,_ but like-"

"Perfect!" the girl cuts across her, smiling brightly and clapping her hands together once. "I really do love it when things go to plan," she stands up, wrapping her jacket tighter around her frame. "And if you think this is a trap of some sort, you needn't worry. You can just burn me at the stake, hm?" the girl's tone is much too cheerful for her words.

"But I still don't know your-"

"I really must go," the girl cuts across her again, patting the pocket of her jacket. "I've still got a few more errands to run," she turns and begins to walk away, waving at her lazily. She looks over her shoulder before speaking. "I hope to see you to see you tomorrow night, Choi Yena,"

And before Yena knows it, the girl is gone.

The woman arrives with her _kogi mandu_ merely moments after, looking at the girl as she walks out the door. "Who was she?" she asks curiously, placing Yena's food on the table.

Yena can only shake her head in response. "I have no idea,"

It's four boiled dumplings later, halfway through her fifth, that Yena finally musters up the courage to look at the card the girl had given her, reading it with her heart thumping so hard she can feel it in the base of her throat. Amongst all the details, like where she has to be and at what time, Yena sees a name on the back, in curling white font.

_Miyawaki Sakura._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/glitzyena)   
>  [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/glitzyena)


	3. Addiction Be Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena likes to be alone.

Yena throws open the door to her flat, physically unable to keep her eyes open for any longer. She's so tired that it's physically painful, but at least for now her hunger has been satisfied. The door behind her closes with a bang, rather loud for close to three a.m, and if she had the energy she'd cringe, but all she can manage is a soft scrunch of her nose. She doesn't bother to hang up her hoodie, merely tugging it over her head and dropping it to the floor. Much like the diner, Yena's flat doesn't have much to offer. And it's not her being modest (she wishes she was), the apartment really isn't up to much at all. Three small, cramped rooms that minorly trigger whatever claustrophobia she possesses.

There's the kitchen, or at least that's what she calls it, although it's really just a room that just so happens to have a portable, one ring stove placed on top of a drawer, and a dingy kettle that splutters and coughs like a dying man each time she attempts to turn it on.

There's the living room, which is ridiculously ironic, because out of all the rooms in this place (because there's so many to choose from) she lives in this one the least. It used to have a sofa, and back when it did she supposes that she did go in there quite frequently, considering she didn't and still doesn't have a dining table. But now the couch is gone, finally selling the ratted thing for not even half as much as she would've liked, so now, most of her meals are eaten in her bedroom.

Her bedroom, which contains a chest of draws with her clothes, and a mattress pushed up against the wall. Not having an actual bed, with like, you know, sheets and a duvet and shit, can prove to be bothersome, but Yena keeps blankets in her drawers that she saves for the winter.

So yeah. Yena is kind of dirt poor. But, she's just happy to have a place at all.

Walking into her bedroom haphazardly with her eyes shut, Yena doesn't even have the energy to groan as she throws herself onto her mattress. However, the springs of the mattress do, complaining loudly at Yena's weight being thrown on top of them. She'd bought the old thing second hand, and its owner had seemed quite desperate to get rid of it to be honest, however one man's waste is another man's treasure. So it has, quite literally, been with Yena through thick and thin. It's not like she's able to wash the thing, so its got an interesting combination of scents: perspiration, smoke (both natural and that of a cigarette. The great thing about being immune to fire is that Yena can smoke and her lungs stay squeaky clean), alcohol, and perfume that doesn't belong to her, although those are for the nights when her and someone else are fucking shitfaced.

No one in their right mind would ever come here sober. Yena always kicks them out the moment they are.

Not all that bothered to change, Yena pulls the card that girl, Sakura, she supposes her name is, out of the back pocket of her jeans, inspecting it closely. On one side is Sakura's name, written with a white pen in ridiculously neat and swirly handwriting. Thinking of it, Yena reckons it suits Sakura quite well.

God, packed away beneath that kind, giggly exterior, Sakura had been no less than absolutely terrifying. Yena never wants to get on her bad side if she can help it - one look from her had her completely and utterly pinned. Although, a very small part of her hopes that, at this _event_ as Sakura had put it, Yena gets to see her again.

The other side of the card tells her exactly what Sakura had. Nine p.m sharp on the docks, no company, no weapons. Yena's insides tick madly like a haywire clock at the thought of meeting others like herself. She's very much aware that this could all be some sort of sick set up, that its actually quite unlikely that she's gone through life without hearing of these _others,_ but a silly, childish part of her _hopes._ Despite the fact that she's going to arrive with her guard up, because she's made it through this life alone and she has no intention of changing that, for once it would be nice to be a bit more lax. She's constantly wrestling with her ever growing lies, trying to control them and force them down like a raging animal before they grow and mutate into something uncontrollable, so for once it would be so _nice_ to just talk to someone without building up these barriers to protect herself.

Yena smiles to herself drowsily, dropping the card onto the ground and reaching beneath her pillow for her pack of cigarettes. Fishing one out, she bites the stick between her teeth, producing a small flame from the tip of her finger and holding it just beneath the cigarette's tip, waiting until it catches fire. The paper flickers, pathetically trying to cling onto the flame, before it begins to glow a warm shade of orange, casting soft glows of apricot on the otherwise dark room. Yena inhales slowly, keeping the smoke in her mouth before letting it dribble past her lips. The smoke dissipates, not really travelling in any particular direction, only really visible when it passes through the faint light of the city that snakes through the gap in Yena's curtains.

She lies there, eyes shut, blindly smoking the cigarette and tapping the ash onto the ashtray placed next to her bed, and tries to just shove any of her invasive thoughts out of her mind.

Someone.

Yena scoffs.

How fucking naive of her.   
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  
  


Yena wakes up around five a.m, breath erratic and wild and her skin holding a thin sheen of sweat. Her fringe is matted to her forehead with sweat, her hoodie sticking to her skin because of the perspiration. The faces of the men in the alleyway dance in front of her eyes, seared into her brain like a stamp on hot wax, and she splutters out a cough that burns her chest.

Slowly levelling out her breathing, Yena's shoulders heave, propping herself up onto her shoulders and dampening her lips. She looks around the room, seeing the few simple familiarities, like the ashtray next to the mattress. The crack on the wall from where she had punched once out of mere frustration. The gap in the curtains that let out light from the restless city that, like her, never seems to be able to fall asleep.

Yena hangs her head low, her hair falling over her face like draping curtains, looking at the waistband of her jeans but at the same time not really registering them. Like her eyes are gazing in that particular direction and her jeans just so happen to be there.

Tears sting at Yena's eyes, but she wills them back. She stops her lips from trembling by biting them, so hard that she indents the soft skin.

It's in times like this, that Yena thinks that as much as she likes being alone, she doesn't really like being lonely.   
  
  
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  
  


Yena doesn't go back to sleep after that. Not out of choice, but she really can't sleep without tortured screams stabbing at her ears, so she clambers off her mattress before the sun has even risen, soles of her feet cool on the wooden floor. She peels her shirt off and replaces it with a new one, tossing the one she'd worn to bed into the basket she'd be taking to the laundromat at the end of the week. She grimaces before putting her black hoodie back on, carding her fingers through her hair and stepping out the door.

(Then she has to go back inside to collect her forgotten packet of cigarettes that she'd discarded onto the floor of her bedroom, addiction be damned.)

By the time she's left the apartment building, the sun has just about started to show signs of stirring. She can't quite see it yet, but the eastern horizon is more of a periwinkle comparing to the indigo of the west. She walks next to the canal, its dark waters a reflection of the sky, the light it snatches from the streetlamps writhing in golden wisps to escape the waters' ridges. Despite the early hour, the city seems to be growing restless; car engines are revving and people seem to be beginning their journey to work. Yena even sees the odd jogger, with lights flashing on their bodies in order to be seen, and wonder where exactly the line between proactivity and insanity is drawn.

Then again, here she is, out for a walk because she's got nothing better to be doing. Fatigue weighs down her system like heavy bags of wet sand have been tied to her limbs, although it's not like she can do anything about it. She might as well get out and about while she's at it - staying inside that flat might cause her to go mad with boredom.

Walking riverside, despite the intrusions of heavy breathing from passing runners and the monotonous rumbling of car engines, is actually quite pleasant. Yena tries not to think much (she just about manages), and just sort of... takes everything in. Nothing mental, only physical. She doesn't really think she's able to deal with anything mental right about now.

The way the water reflects the light from the streetlamps. The pebbles that skid excitedly on the gravel as she mindlessly nudges them with her foot when she walks. The way the stars in the sky slowly begin to fade as they surrender to the sunlight. It's the small things that she used to think were hardly worth her time that help her to stay grounded. But it's the larger, more obvious things that Yena admits catch her attention that bit easier.

Something like what she's seeing now.

On the opposite side of the river, next to the path that runs parallel to the one Yena is walking on, are rows of paintings that have been hung up along the iron bar fencing that separates a large green area from the road. Obviously being sold by an art dealer of some sort, Yena finds it odd that the paintings have been hung up so early in the morning. In fact, she's walked the path next to this river and she's never seen anyone dealing art here at all. The only explanations she can come up with is that it's someone new trying to set up early before rush hour begins, to catch commuters on their way in to work and students on their way to the local university.

Intrigued, Yena peers closer, just able to see the paintings from this distance. They're quite beautiful paintings, actually, mostly scenic views and beautiful architecture that she doesn't recognise. There's boats lazing on a river next to the archway of a bridge, a candid image of two women stylishly dressed in a cafe with piles of shopping bags at their feet. The paintings all seem to hold the same style, with tones of pale orange and blue and yellow that contrast with one another in such a simple yet beautiful way and-

Yena freezes.

The final painting in the row, on the far left hand side, is not like the others at all.

A deep ruby red being its most dominant colour, the final painting does not possess the soft, delicate brush strokes that the other ones seem to have. This painting almost looks as though as it had been done out of rage, the strokes harsh and long and prominent on the canvas. Where red hasn't been violently swiped across the image, black almost certainly has, almost no light seeming to be shining on the subject at all. The shadows seem to be enveloping the subject, choking it, like they've got their dark clutches wrapped raw around a throat.

And, it shakes Yena to her very fucking core when she realises that the subject in the painting looks disturbingly identical to _her_.

In the painting, from what she can make out amongst the thick brush strokes and crowding shadows, she's on her knees. Her hands are cuffed, hung above her head with the shackles attached to the wall, and her head lolls into her chest like a rag doll's. Her posture is stumped, like she's in pain, and- and her eyes. Her eyes are the only part of the painting that hold any sort of light to them, though not in the hopeful sense. They're a reflection, a reflection that Yena can see even from this distance, that allow her to see the crude emotions of desperation and agony that swim in the whites of her eyes. Like the light is so close that she can visibly _see_ it, so tauntingly close but still out of reach.

It's like looking at a nightmarish version of herself through a mirror that leads to an alternate reality.

She visibly shudders, shaken and _disturbed_ , tearing her gaze away from the painting and towards the water by her feet.

Biting her tongue, hard, Yena stuffs her hands into her pockets and continues to walk. She pretends she saw nothing.  
  
  
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  


It's exactly eight fifty-seven p.m that evening when Yena arrives on the docks, geared up in black with her hood up over her head, a biting chill running down her back. It's always colder next by the sea, and Yena's suffering the consequences now as her teeth chatter, rubbing at her arms as a laughable attempt at trying to conserve heat. She's beginning to regret now not making Sakura wait at the diner last night so that she could ask her even just a few more questions, because while yes, she is on the docks with two minutes to spare, the docks are hardly confined to one small, tight area. The docks are actually pretty fucking huge, and with two minutes to go and no one in sight, Yena's beginning to become fretful.

"Hi, um, excuse me?"

Yena whirls around, probably a bit too jumpy, to see a boy standing in front of her. He stares back at her with equal fright, eyes wide and eyebrows upturned in a worried fashion. His lips are drawn together, almost as if to stop any more words spilling out. He's got curly brown hair that falls in front of his forehead, a few stray strands falling in front of his eyes with the blustery evening, which he swipes away only for them to fall right back into place. Even though he's taller than Yena, that doesn't really say much, because as boys go he's really not all that tall. He can't be any more than seventeen.

Regardless, however, Yena looks at him with a poker expression. "Who are you?" she deadpans.

The boy looks at her fretfully, seeming to struggle for words. "Um.. I'm looking for... well I don't know? Exactly? For the um, you know... sorry, the..." he trails off, ears reddening, before seeming to perk up a bit. "Oh! Nine p.m sharp by the docks?" the familiar words cause Yena to relax a small bit, and the deal is sealed once the boy fishes into the back pocket of his jeans to produce a small black card, complete with Sakura's signature on the back.

"Holy shit," Yena breathes, sucking in a breath of air sharply. "You're like me," the boy lets out a short puff of laughter, awkward before she continues. "What's your name?"

"Hyeongjun," the boy, Hyeongjun, replies. "Song Hyeongjun. Are you looking for... well, whatever it is we're supposed to be here for?"

"Yeah," Yena nods, bewildered because _holy fuck he's just like me_ and, well. Hyeongjun looks completely and utterly _ordinary._ "I'm Yena, by the way,"

Hyeongjun nods at her, and grins widely. He's cute, in a little brother sort of way. "It's really nice to meet you," he says. "I was uh.. beginning to think I'd been set up,"

"Well," Yena begins to walk, and Hyeongjun follows. "At least now if this actually is a set up, we can be set up together," they begin to walk to the edge of the dock, where a large boat has been parked. "Now, you'll have to ignore my curiosity," Yena begins, feeling a slow grin smear itself on her lips. "But up until yesterday, I've never even known that anyone else like me even existed. I'm literally dying to know what you can do,"

Hyeongjun giggles at that, and it's a comforting sound. "Well I'm in the exact same boat," he admits. "I'll only tell you whatever you tell me,"

 _Damn_ , Yena muses, regarding Hyeongjun with a mixture of intrigue and amusement, _He's smarter than he looks._

Andso, for the very first time since igniting a spark with a flick of her wrist, Yena tells someone what she thought she'd never tell anyone.

It's not nearly as horrific or bloody as she had always imagined it would be. 


	4. Blooming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena makes a change.

"I remember when I was younger, I used to freak the hell out of myself with what I could do. Like I knew it wasn't normal, you know? But I was so young and all these things just kept happening and I was literally terrified," Hyeongjun wets his lips. They've been walking for about ten minutes now, with absolutely no sign of any sort of event, or Sakura, or anything that they were supposed to come here for. Yena's starting to lose hope, and while it has dwindled her spirits, listening to Hyeongjun talk is nice. Really, really nice. "But no one could ever link all the weird things that kept happening to me, like there's no way anyone could ever collect any evidence to prove it was in any way me," Hyeongjun smiles softly to himself. "When I was eleven, I remember I'd forgotten my homework or left it at home or something like that - teacher totally freaked out on me. I-" he snickers. "I just remember being really mad, and the next thing I know there's this massive tree branch coming in from the window, grabbing my teacher by the ankle, lifting her up into the air and shaking her upside down,"

Yena just stares at him. "Shut up. What happened then?"

"Well people are hardly gonna believe a group of eleven year olds when they claim that a tree branch came in through the window and shook their teacher around a bit," Hyeongjun giggles, and Yena lets out a soft breath of laughter. "And the teacher herself passed out the moment the branch came into the classroom, so she claims she doesn't know what happened. So it was then I decided that, ok, I really need to stop allowing these weird things to happen, and control it," Hyeongjun rolls his eyes. "Easier said than done,"

Yena scoffs. "Tell me about it," she reaches into her back pocket and plucks out a cigarette from the packet. "You don't mind, do you?" she asks, placing the cigarette between her lips and leaving it unlit.

"Hm?" Hyeongjun turns to look at her, eyes falling on the cigarette, before smiling at her. "Of course not," he responds. "Actually now that I think of it, they mustn't have much affect on you, should they? The cigarettes,"

"That's the theory," Yena's speech is distorted slightly when she speaks around the stick, trying to get it to light with her finger, cupping the flame with her free hand. "I don't see any reason why they should," she shrugs, inhaling deeply when the ends of the paper begin to glow. "Not like I can do much to stop it anyways. You were saying about how you were teaching yourself?" she prompts, much preferring when the conversation isn't focused on her.

"Ah yeah," Hyeongjun smiles again. "I used to practise in my room, and for the first week I'd either get literally no results no matter how hard I tried, or I'd walk into the room and be hit in the face with a massive burst of rose petals or something," between the cracks in the concrete, shoots suddenly begin to sprout, and despite herself Yena lets out a surprised gasp. The stem grows higher, and Hyeongjun looks so _fond_ , the stem curling around his wrist and blooming a flower in the palm of his hand. "I think it kind of took me a while to realise that this isn't something I have to fight, or dominate and have complete control over, that's not how it works," He purses his lips. "It's almost like working with a person. You have to respect them in order for them to respect you," The stem curls back down into the crack in the concrete, but leaves the flower in the palm of Hyeongjun's hand. He picks it up, holding it against the moonlight and twirling it between his fingertips. "Working with plants allowed for a lot of trial and error, so I can't imagine what it would be like to go through the exact same thing, but with fire,"

Yena visibly stiffens, and she has no doubt that Hyeongjun didn't notice. She only offers a small grunt as a reply, and leaves it at that. Silence hangs in between them for a moment or two, before Yena lets out a sigh. "Listen I don't think that-" she cuts herself off, noticing that Hyeongjun's gaze is fixated on a point over her shoulder rather than on her. "Is... everything alright?"

Hyeongjun's brow furrows, and it takes him a short while to respond. "Was that boat always there or is my mind playing tricks on me?"

Yena gives him a weary look, before turning around and having to stifle a gasp. Parked at the very end of the pier, is a large, three masted galleon, larger than any other ship with sails that Yena has ever seen. It looks to be brand new, squeaky new and not a crease in the sails, however it's so ridiculously large that it seems like it could swallow the harbour whole.

Yena looks back at Hyeongjun. "You don't suppose..." she trails off.

Hyeongjun shrugs. "Might as well have a look and see,"

Yena nods in a agreement, dropping her cigarette onto the deck and snuffing it out with her heel.

They make their way over to the galleon, which bobs gently on the water, so large that it blocks the moon from view. It seems silent, no noise coming from it at all, and for all the hope Yena allowed herself to regain, she's starting to feel set up again. That's a rookie mistake she hasn't made in a long time. She scolds herself for it mentally.

Hyeongjun takes a step closer to the hull of the ship, swallowing before rapping his knuckles on the polished wood. "Hello?"

For a moment or two, there's no response, and Yena feels like nothing short of a fool.

Then-

"Fucking finally,"

Yena looks up to see Sakura peering down at them both from the deck, a mixture of amusement and annoyance evident on her soft, pretty features. Yena can't fight off the smile that forces its way onto her lips, feeling butterflies explode inside her stomach.

"What took you both so long? Did you doubt me when I told you nine p.m sharp?" Sakura scolds them, throwing a ladder overboard and tying it to two pegs for them to climb up.

"No!" both Yena and Hyeongjun insist in unison, making Sakura's pale pink lips curl into a smirk. They both look at each other before Yena decides to speak. "We just couldn't find the ship," she realises how dumb it sounds once the words leave her lips, because the ship is fucking _ginormous_.

How _did_ they miss it anyway?

Sakura shakes her head. "Whatever, we're behind schedule as it is," she gives the ladder an enticing shake. "C'mon,"

Yena and Hyeongjun share weary looks. "Where are we going?" Hyeongjun tentatively asks, and Sakura tuts.

"It's either this ship leaves right now, or you two get on," right on queue, a horn sounds, and Sakura gives them an _I told you so kind_ of look. "What's it gonna be?"

The pair of them hesitate, for a moment, before Yena shakes out her shoulders. She's got nothing to lose, she decides, and before she can second guess herself, she takes a hold of the ladder and hoists herself up onto the first step.

"Good girl," Sakura drawls above her, and Yena feels herself flush, keeping her head down to hide the heat creeping up her neck. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

As Yena ascends, she can feel the ladder shake beneath her when Hyeongjun starts to climb, and it's not long before she's nearing the top. She looks up to see Sakura holding out her hand. The girl rolls her eyes playfully, a quirky grin on her lips. "I don't bite, you know," she chides, and as she hoists Yena up onto the deck, she leans into her ear and whispers "Not unless you want me to,"

Yena stands there, blushing madly, as Sakura sends her one last impish look before turning back around to help Hyeongjun up. Once they're both stood safely on the deck, Sakura regards them both brightly. "Well, because you were both late, only the shitty rooms are left," she gives them a pitied look. "Bad luck. But, we'll be arriving around late afternoon, so you won't really need to be in them all that much,"

"Arriving where?" Hyeongjun stresses, sounding mildly agitated, and Sakura purses her lips, looking like she's trying to bite her tongue.

"Ever heard of Empiriah?"

"No,"

"Well now you have," Sakura keeps that bright smile on her face, and Yena can't quite seem to take her eyes off of her. She claps her hands twice, and through her little love sick haze, Yena just about registers a pair of burly men that come to stand by Sakura's side. "Bring these two to the two remaining cabins, would you?" Yena hears her saying.

Blinking through her haze, she stands a little straighter, realising that Hyeongjun and the crew member with him have already begun to move.

Her eyes fall on Sakura again, to see the girl staring blatantly at her, and Yena feels so hot she's sure that she's about to melt into a puddle and seep into the freshly polished floorboards. Sakura doesn't break eye contact as she leans in to the other crew member, talking quietly but definitely loud enough for Yena to hear. "Make sure to take care of the girl, hm?"

A fox. Sakura reminds Yena of a fox, beautiful yet cunning. Beguiling.

"She's cute,"

Yena thinks she might pass out before she ever gets to figure out what the everloving fuck an Empiriah is.   
  
  
  
  
  


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The two members of the crew lead Yena and Hyeongjun below deck, the hull groaning as it begins to move, pushing through the waves. Once Yena catches up with Hyeongjun, he gives her a knowing look.

Yena frowns. "What?"

"Oh, c'mon," Hyeongjun gives her a gentle shove with his shoulder.

"No seriously, what?" Yena insists, and Hyeongjun looks like he's trying not to laugh.

"Sakura," he says. "You're totally crushing on her,"

Yena gasps, horrified, and Hyeongjun doesn't try to hold back his laughter at that. She just gapes at him for a moment as he covers his mouth to vainly hide his wide grin, before smacking her palm softly on his shoulder. "You fucker," she hisses. "I am _not_ crushing on her,"

"Yeah yeah," Hyeongjun waves her off. "You were so red I thought your face was going to explode, you were looking at her like she'd offered to give you the sun or something,"

Yena cups her cheeks subconsciously, glaring at him. "You're a little bitch, you know that?"

Hyeongjun only gives her a lopsided smile. "So I've been told,"

The two crew members escort them to their rooms, on separate corridors with the girls on the right and the boys on the left. Yena has to insist with the crew member with her that she can find her cabin on her own despite Sakura's wishes for him to be extra attentive towards her. When she finally shakes him off, she ventures into the girls' corridor with the key he'd given her in the palm of her hand, a tag labelled with the number six dangling from a key chain. Counting the rooms on her left, she stops in front of the sixth, checking just to be sure that this is the right one.

 _What the fuck is happening?_ she thinks to herself wryly. _This is... bizarre._ And it is, well and truly, bizarre. Up until before yesterday evening, Yena had no plans other than to find someone who would be willing to buy the hard drive containing all those files. Now, she's on a ship (Yena's never been on a ship. She's hoping that sea sickness is an urban myth of sorts), off to God only knows where, and.

Well.

It's _invigorating_.

Yena's always been raging about how she needs more from life, hasn't she? Well, it doesn't get any _more_ than this.

Smiling giddily to herself, Yena puts the key into the keyhole, fiddling with it and twisting it to find the best way to unlock it. She's just about succeeded, hearing the door click satisfyingly, when the sound of another door opening causes her to give a start.

Behind her, over her right shoulder, a girl emerges out of a room, rubbing tiredly at her eyes, hair a mussed up mess on the top of her head. She locks her gaze with Yena's as soon as she takes her hand away from her face, and her eyes widen almost comically.

They stare at one another, for a moment, Yena's face poker straight and the other girl's eyes as wide as saucers. Then, the girl smiles sheepishly, expression tight, before scurrying past her and into room number five.

She locks the door behind her.


	5. Fear is Unconditional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena can't sleep.

"Hey... hey, wake up!"

Yena is uncomfortable. She can't really pinpoint it, but she isn't comfortable at all. Less than comfortable really; her back feels like she's lying on jagged rock, and her body is too hot and too cold all at once.

"Shh, it's alright, you're okay. Wake up, c'mon,"

A sharp pain seems to wreck itself through Yena's body, something like a searing jolt that has her arching, scrunching up her face like she'd sucked on a lemon. She's not totally conscious, neither aware of where she is or what's going on, her fatigue-drunken mind only honing in on the pain she's feeling.

Although, pain might be the wrong word. The feeling isn't physical, obvious like a cut or gash on her skin, it's just sort of... there. Present. She can't really describe it, all she knows is that something is hurting and hurting _bad,_ and while she's unable to put her finger on it, she doesn't really care. She just wants for it to stop.

" _Please_ wake up. I- god, shit. Wake up!"

Yena wakes up to her arm being shaken harshly, and she gives a start, sitting up so fast that the room begins to spin, shifting in and out of focus. The touch on her arm retracts like Yena had burned it (perhaps she had), and the sheets pool around Yena's waist when she pushes herself further up the bed so that her back is up against the pillows. Her breathing is hollow and laboured, much, _much_ too fast for her to be able to control it. She grips onto the sheets until her knuckles bleach white, and the sweat pooling on her forehead makes her shiver.

A bucket is shoved beneath her nose, and as the boat tosses on the waves, Yena involuntarily gags, groaning at the queasy sensation. The next time a wave causes the boat to lurch, Yena vomits up her _kogi mandu_ , retching violently and holding onto the bucket's rim with a death grip. The stench makes her gag silently, instantly bringing her face away from the bucket, before spitting into it one last time to rid her mouth of the taste.

It's then that Yena realises that her hair is no longer resting on her shoulders or the back of her neck.

Looking up, she sees small, dainty hands holding back the dark locks of her hair. The hands belong to a girl, sitting on the side of Yena's bed, looking at her with obvious concern etched into her features. "Are you alright?"

Yena doesn't respond, looking at the girl closer. It's hard to see in the pitch black, but with the oil lamp burning a small, almost pathetic flame by Yena's bedside, she can just make out the girl's more prominent features. Narrow eyes and pouted lips, sleek brown hair and wisps of a fringe covering her forehead.

She's the girl from last night. The girl in the room next to Yena's.

The girl frowns at her, looking even more worried now, leaning forwards. "You can hear me, yeah? How are you feeling?"

Yena can only blink at her. In the dark amber light, the girl looks quite alluring, perhaps even beautiful, and as a code of etiquette she's never once complained about having beautiful girls in her bed. She blinks drowsily, giving the girl a lopsided smile. "Peachy,"

The girl's expression changes from concerned to playful within moments, and Yena decides that it suits her. She's young looking, probably no more than eighteen, and comes across as heart meltingly... soft.

"Well enough to be a smartass, I see," the girl shakes her head, leaning across and gently applying pressure to Yena's shoulder to get her to lie down. Once she's satisfied that Yena is comfortable, she presses the back of her hand to Yena's forehead. "You're burning up," her voice is hushed. It's comforting mixture of something delicate and something raw, her words simultaneously like water skipping over stones, and like rich, dark chocolate is being drizzled over her tongue. "What were you dreaming of, hm?"

"Dunno," that's a lie. Yena knows exactly what she'd been dreaming of. "The harder I try remember, the more I forget," she groans, her eyes falling shut of their own accord. "Shit, this is so gross, I fucking reek. I'm so sorry," she apologises, not even able to look the pretty girl in the eye. Although, that's partly because every time she opens her eyes, the room seems to sway a little.

"It's alright," shit, the girl has a voice so nice it could put Yena to sleep. "You had me worried, I could hear you from the next room over," Yena can sense her hesitation. "Though don't worry, I was awake anyways, you were really quiet," her rush to backtrack her words makes Yena smile a little. "You just- sounded like you were in a lot of pain,"

"You didn't have to,"

"And what kind of person would I be if I didn't?"

Yena's really too tired to come up with an intelligent reply, so she lets the girl's words hang in the air, dissipating like a cloud. Pricking at the silence, a clock ticks somewhere in the distance.

"What's your name?" the girl asks, voice so, so gentle.

"Yena," Yena replies, teetering on the edge of slumber now. She yawns. "You?"

There's more silence, and the ticking of the clock keeps softly prodding at the quiet.

Yena thinks the girl might have replied. She's fallen back asleep again before she can give it any more thought.   
  
  
  
  


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_"I can't! I already told you, I can't!" Yena screams, throwing her hands onto the table with frustration. "It's so easy to say but it doesn't work!"_

_She's in the kitchen again with her mother. The space is cramped and tight, lowly lit with only a dim headlamp hanging gloomily over their heads, flies buzzing around it aimlessly. She's stood behind their small, rickety dining table, that groans threateningly each time Yena presses down on it with her palm._

_Her mother is stood in front of the hob, gripping onto the edge tightly, still giving Yena a warm smile no matter how much Yena raises her voice. "I know, sweetheart," her mother speaks with a hushed tone, and maybe if Yena had looked closer at the time, she would've noticed the sparse, unshed tears glimmering along her lashline. "I know it's hard, but I'm... I'm asking you, for_ both _our sakes, just to keep on trying,"_

 _But the light is low and Yena isn't looking closer. She shakes her head in disbelief, lips parted like she can't wrap her head around what she's hearing. "Don't you get it?" her voice cracks, and she's verging on desperate. "It's not hard, it's_ impossible _, and-"_

_Her mother is still smiling warmly at her. "Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it,"_

_Yena grits her teeth, looking away. She feels something bubbling in her throat. "Bullshit,"_

_"Language, Yena,"_

_Yena scoffs. "Oh, so you want me to control these- these literal_ science defying _outbursts of_ fire _, but as soon as I curse you suddenly care?"_

_"Yena, the whole reason we're having this argument is because I care. You're only thirteen, you've got so much life left in you and I- I can't let you lose that. Not like I did,"_

_Yena doesn't reply. Not only can she not come up with a good enough response, but it's also because she stopped believing in her own argument a long time ago. She knows her mother wants the best for her, and that these abilities of hers are a dangerous thing that she needs to be able to control._

_But she can't._

_No matter how hard she tries, or how much she practises, she can never manage to get the bright orange flames to comply with her wishes, which makes her frustrated. And it's a simple flaw really. When Yena gets frustrated, she quits._

_It's better off to not do the thing you're trying to do than fail at it continuously. That's the mindset, and she can't overcome it._

_Before she even knows what's happening, the room suddenly grows brighter, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Yena registers that her mother is screaming. Blinking, her vision comes into focus, and she gasps._

_A couple inches away from where her mother had been standing not even moments ago, a fire grows and licks hungrily at the walls from where it sprouts from the hob, the wallpaper singed black._

_Yena can't even move._

_She barely notices that her mother is running around the kitchen in a frenzy, most likely in search of the fire extinguisher, glued to the spot as the fire blazes menacingly. She stares at it with a mixture of shock and concentrated horror, fear scraping and cutting at her insides._

_She'd made that._

_Mere inches away from her mother, she'd made that._

_Any closer and she could've-_

_The loud sound of the fire extinguisher drowns out the snappy crackling of the fire, white froth mimicking snow landing on the fire's base. It puts it out without much difficulty, a few sparse sparks spluttering and coughing with meek attempts at starting a new flame, but to no avail. The last few wisps of smoke curl into the air, barely reaching the halfway point to the ceiling before dissipating into nothingness._

_Silence hangs thick between them both, heavy and blatantly obvious. Yena is cowardly, barely able to so much as look in her direction._

_"Yen-"_

_Yena is hugging her tightly before her mother can even finish saying her name, burying her face into her neck and letting her tears soak into the neck of her dress. "I'm so- so sorry," she hiccups over her words. "I didn't mean any of it, I didn't_ mean _to, I promi-"_

 _"Shh, it's okay. It's alright, nice deep breaths. It's over now, I'm okay._ You're _okay,"_

_Yena clings onto her like she's never going to let go. "I... you could've-"_

_"There's no use thinking about what could've happened, or thinking about_ what ifs. _No matter how much we wish we could, we can't go back and change time," her mother pulls away, cupping her face with one hand and smoothing back her hair with the other. "No matter what happens, I'm so proud of you," she presses a kiss to Yena's nose, making her giggle croakily despite herself. "And I love you so much,"_

_Yena clings onto her wrist, forcing back a sob. "I love you too," she hesitates, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her palms, swallowing thickly. "And I... and I'll keep trying,"_

_Her mother beams at that, and Yena positively melts with guilt. "That's my little girl," her mother tugs her back into a hug, and Yena hugs her back like it's the last time she'll ever get to._

All this unconditional love _. Yena thinks to herself._ I'm not very deserving of it.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  
  
  


The next morning, Yena stumbles out of her cabin, changed out of the linen pyjamas that had been lain on her bed neatly upon her arrival last night, and back into her black getup of jeans and her typical hoodie. She walks by the other rooms in the corridor, not able to tell whether other people have gotten up yet or not, but also too tired and drowsy to care. She comes out the other side, to where the hall joins up with the boy's rooms, and she's all of a sudden hit with an overwhelming smell of hot, cooked food.

"Good morning,"

Yena flinches involuntarily, looking to her left to see a member of the crew, or so she assumes, standing in front of a set of closed double doors. The woman is smiling at her, so Yena offers her a brief thinning of her lips in response. "Am I up too early, or..?"

"Oh no, you're completely fine. You're the second up, actually," she tilts her head in he direction of the doors. "Breakfast is just through here, when you're ready,"

Yena sighs, tousling at her hair. She really needs to wash it. "Look, I'm sorry," she apologises. "I don't have any money with me, so I'll just-"

The woman laughs, cutting Yena off, and Yena gives her a confused look. "Don't be ridiculous, dear!" The woman croons. "Breakfast is on the house for our guests, and that means you," she pauses. "Well, on the ship really," she smiles, looking proud of herself.

It hadn't been funny at all, but Yena still smiles politely because _holy fuck the food is free._ "Well then it that case I'll just-" she points in the direction of the door, walking towards it.

The woman nods and smiles one last time. "Enjoy, dearie,"

Yena opens up the double doors, and is overwhelmed with the scent of food. Her eyes widen at the sight of what she's presented with, and she's almost convinced that her sleepy, weary mind is making her see things. The room is large, with two round tables in the middle, each with six chairs. Up against the walls is probably the largest buffet spread Yena's ever seen (the only buffet spread she's ever seen), steam billowing from the stands that contain brightly coloured foods that she's only ever dreamed of.

And Yena is positively starved.

"Oh, Yena. You're awake too,"

Yena turns to look in the direction that the voice had come from, to see someone sat at one of the tables with their back to her, turned around in their chair to look at her. Squinting, she blinks the bleariness out of her eyes in order to get a good look at their face and- oh.

It's the girl from last night.

While Yena may be starved, with a buffet practically surrounding her, she for some reason finds herself walking in the direction of the tables, where the girl from last night is sat. Before she even knows she's done it, she's sat herself down next to her, and the girl is looking at her with intrigue.

"You're up early," she starts, resting her chin on her palm. "For someone who was awake at such a time last night,"

Yena shrugs. "I could say the same for you," she mimics the girl's position, leaning in and cupping her chin, her elbows propped up on the table.

The girl grins, tilting her head. "Touché,"

Yena hesitates. "You uh," she clears her throat. "I really wanted to thank you. For last night. You honestly didn't have to,"

The girl tilts her head again, this time in consideration. "It was for my own benefit, originally," she admits. "You sounded quite distressed, and I couldn't sleep with someone sounding so pained in the room next to mine," she grimaces. "But you... you _looked_ like you were in pain too," she purses her lips. "I couldn't just not do anything. We held a little bit of conversation, do you remember? You were half asleep,"

Yena cringes. "Unfortunately yes. I'm so sorry that our first meeting was literally because I needed to vomit,"

The girl waves her off. "It's fine, really, I already told you that I don't mind. I'm good at taking care of people," she looks pleased with herself.

Yena nods in the direction of the plate that's in front of the girl, which is empty like all the others. "Are you not going to eat anything?"

"Hm?" The girl follows Yena's line of sight towards her bare plate, and giggles.

The sound catches Yena off guard, and all of a sudden her heart rate increases. She frowns to herself, confused.

"Oh, don't worry I am. I just don't like eating alone. It's a bit lonely, don't you think?" She stands up, the chair scraping against the wood of the floor. "You joining?"

Yena blinks up at her, her mind a flurry of thoughts, before she somehow manages to reign them in. "Oh. Yeah. Of course," she frowns again. "Sorry,"

The girl tilts her head. "What for?"

"I'm literally so shit at names," Yena sighs, resting her head against the the back of the chair. "Like I forget them all the time. I was kind of asleep when you told me yours,"

"Oh, that's okay," the girl laughs again. "It was probably a bad time to tell you anyway," she looks Yena in the eye when she speaks.  
  
  
  
  
  


"My name is Yuri,"  
  



	6. Trick of the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena gets to know Yuri a little better.

"So how did you get invited here?"

Yuri seems to consider Yena's question, stirring her spoon through her bowl of yoghurt with oats and honey thoughtfully. She doesn't look too different to how she did last night, not that Yena remembers much, but she's got a face so kind that it's quite hard to forget.

Maybe, Yena likes looking at her face. Yeah, she's got a nice face, Yuri.

God, who the fuck even says that?

"Well, you know, Sakura came to me, like she did with everyone I presume," Yuri eats a spoonful of her food, swallowing before continuing on. "I was quite sceptical at first, that it was a trap or something like that, unlike you I can't just burn the place down if something doesn't go my way,"

Yena lets her words linger, frowning at her. "How do you know-

Yuri grins impishly at her. "You talk in your sleep," she seems pleased with herself, ignoring Yena's distressed groan. "I took a lucky guess,"

Yena wants to bury herself into the ground alive and maybe stay there for a couple years, but the boat's constant rocking on the waves reminds her that that sweet release is still out of her reach. She resorts to hiding her face into her shoulder, muttering a "That's embarrassing," into the fabric of her hoodie.

"It's not really," Yuri assures her, placing a hand on her arm. "To be honest I wasn't really paying attention, you know, with being worried that you were gonna choke and all,"

Yena groans again over the noise of Yuri's giggles, and while she's showing obvious distress on the outside, her insides are bubbling with excitement. Because talking with Yuri is _comfortable_ , like yeah there's small talk laced into their conversation, but if Yuri feels good enough to joke around and kid with her already, then-

Then that's it. That's fine.

Yena has finished her breakfast already, her plate piled with buttery crusts of toasted bread pushed away from her (Yuri had laughed at her nibbling strategically to avoid the crusts. It's not Yena's fault they're gross), yet even so she's decided to stay and wait until Yuri is finished. Usually she wouldn't care, she'd have no problem whatsoever with just up and leaving whenever she feels like it. But now, it's like an invisible force is pushing her down, forcing her to stay in her seat, and the worrying thing is that Yena isn't fighting it whatsoever.

"Well, if you know what I can do, it's only fair that I know what you can do," Yena says, leaning back in her chair and lacing her fingers over her stomach, quirking a brow.

Yuri looks at her for a moment, regarding her with pursed lips, before sitting up a litle straighter. "Alright," she simpers, pointing her chin in the direction of the porthole window on the opposite side of the room. "Look out there,"

Yena gives her a funny look, but complies with what she's told, swivelling in her seat and looking out towards the window. At first there's nothing but the same, silky blue waves that stretch on until the horizon, glimmering in the early morning sunlight and blurring where they meet the azure of the sky. It's quite a calming scene, or it would be, if the blurred horizon wasn't constantly tilting from side to side and making her queasy to the stomach.

And then, to Yena's bewilderment, from the top of the porthole's window, a hand creeps into view. Just fingers, splayed wide and flat over the glass, a bit like something you'd see in a horror film. Then, soft brown hair tumbles beneath the glass' frame, swishing gently from the outside of the ship. Yena squints, standing up, and walks over to the window tentatively, watching as the chestnut coloured hair sways softly with the sea breeze. She stops just short of it, unable to make sense of it at all, and raises her knuckles to knock on the window.

Then, right as Yena's about to do just that, Yuri's face appears on the other side of the glass.

Yena flinches, surprised, staring at her in shock as Yuri laughs, the sound inaudible through the window. She hangs sideways, gripping onto something above her, and Yena just gapes at her.

"Yena," Yuri's voice comes from behind her. But- but Yena's staring right at her.

No way. There's no fucking way.

Yena turns back around in order to face the table, and Yuri is staring right back at her. Sitting at the round table, right where she'd always been, Cheshire grin on her lips as she seemingly finds bemusement in Yena's confusion.

Frowning, Yena whirls back around to look at the window, however, the Yuri on the outside of the ship is gone, only the sea and the sky in sight. She gapes at it for a moment, then turning back to where Yuri is somehow sat at the table again, then turning to the porthole, and back to the table again. Her brain physically hurting with confusion, she presses her palms to her temples. "You..." she shakes her head. "What the fuck? Tell me that you have a twin or something,"

Yuri bursts into laughter at that, tipping her head back and gasping in between her giggles, holding onto her stomach. Yena stands there, doing a pretty good job at feigning annoyance, but she's really just in slight awe of how nice the other girl's _laughter_ is. Yuri's got a low voice, one that doesn't quite match with her shorter stature and charming appearance (not Yena's opinion, she's just stating facts), but her laugh is raw and completely unabashed.

"Gosh, no," Yuri finally speaks, wiping ceremoniously at non-existent tears on her lashline. "No, I don't have a twin. You asked me to show you what I can do, so that's what I did,"

"Duplication? Fuck off, you're serious?"

Yuri tilts her head to the side in consideration, her giggles seeming to not quite have worn off yet as her lips lift slightly at the sides. "Not quite," she replies, sitting forwards. "You know how when you see yourself in the mirror, your brain perceives it that you're looking at yourself? So everything is mirrored, and it makes a virtual image for your eyes to see?"

Yena purses her lips. "I mean I never really understood the concept, but I get you,"

Yuri nods with a hum. "Well that's exactly what this is," she points in the direction of the porthole again, where just for a glimmer of a second, Yena swears she sees a hand waving before she blinks, and the hand is gone. "A trick of the light,"

"Ah, okay" Yena nods, feeling like she's grasped a vague understanding of the situation now. "So light is what you control,"

Yuri smiles. "Which, in turn, allows me to alter what people can see,"

"Well shit," Yena looks at her, impressed. "I don't know whether to think it's cool or terrifying,"

Yuri sighs, eating the last spoonful of her food before placing the spoon on the saucer that the bowl is placed on. "I suppose it could be both, if I was actually any good," she smiles, a little shy looking all of a sudden. "I didn't know that I could do what I can do up until very recently. I still don't have a very good..." she seems to struggle with her words, gesturing with her hands like it'll help her get her point across. "A very good grasp? On what I can do?" she sounds unsure. "My abilities are very limited. And it seems like everyone here has a better understanding of what they can do compared to me,"

Yena exhales slowly. "I'd rather that than have a full understanding to be honest,"

At that, Yuri's expression is taken aback. "Really?"

Yena nods. "Mmh. Fire's not too fun. Very destructive, lots of burning. Doesn't really make for a good time," she jokes halfheartedly, because there's an underlying truth to her words.

"But fire can be helpful as well," Yuri points out. "It provides heat, and light too,"

Yena scrunches up her nose. "In moderation," she says. "I'm not a very moderate person,"

Yuri smiles tenderly, and yeah, she really is very pretty. "People who are a good time usually aren't,"   
  
  


━━━━  
  
  


After washing up and getting changed back into her clothes (Yena swears that bathrooms were never that luxurious before. Since when were bathrooms a luxury?), Yena heads out onto the deck of the galleon, hoping that some fresh air might do her some good. Yuri is with her, because the other girl is good company, and Yena will admit that's she's enjoying getting to know her, and that she barely even notices time passing. Other people slowly trickle out onto the deck, all within the same general age range, and Yena has strong suspicions that they too are invitees to whatever the hell this thing is. She spots Hyeongjun, at one point, and he throws her a hearty wave and a broad grin. He's with a few other boys, and Yena is glad to see that he too has made acquaintances.

Judging by the placement of the sun in the sky, it's just gone noon, Yena would say, and there's a low thrum of chatter on the deck. The salty tang to the air is refreshing, and focusing her gaze on one fixated point has certainly eased the nauseating sensation that swims around inside her head. "I wonder how many people are here," she thinks aloud, folding her arms and resting them on the edge of the ship.

"Twelve," comes Yuri's instant response from where's sat on the deck neck to her, fiddling with the cuff of her jacket.

Yena tears her gaze away from her fixated spot in favour of giving Yuri a look. "How do you know?"

Yuri looks up at her. "Sakura told me. Gave me a run through of who was who. Didn't she tell you?"

Yena turns so that her back is to the sea, leaning against the fence that prevents her from falling off the edge. She's a little miffed that Sakura had taken the time to tell Yuri all these things about what's going on, but just like Yena, Yuri has no clue about where they're going either. She presses her lips together. "Nope," she replies, a little tight. "How many did you say, twelve?"

Yuri nods in response.

"Care to give me a brief crash course?"

Yuri's gaze sweeps across the deck, scanning each of the small little groups that have begun to form and group together. She discretely points in the general direction of the quarterdeck, where a small group of three have bundled. "See the girl with the black hair?" she waits for Yena to see who she's pointing at before continuing. "That's Kwon Eunbi, she's the oldest here, twenty four I think. She controls water,"

Yena slumps. Kwon Eunbi looks to be a little shorter than her, though the confident way in which she carries herself suggests otherwise. Her features are sharp and her eyes are attentive, her long, dark hair gathered into her ponytail at the base of her scalp. She's probably in her element, right here at sea, and it dawns on Yena then that it's probably half the reason why she isn't. Fire and water are polar opposites after all. She smiles wryly. "A natural opposite. Water extinguishes fire,"

"Not always," Yuri responds, and that's all she says before she's pointing to another in the group. "The guy with the brown hair on Eunbi's right? That's Kim Wooseok, controls ice," she looks like she's trying to contain a grin. "I spoke to him a bit before, he's kinda cold,"

Yena resists the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious play on words. "You did not just,"

Yuri grins. "I very much did,"

"Oh my god, whatever. Who's the other guy?"

Yuri cranes her neck to look. "Ah yeah, Cho Seungyeon. Lightning I'm pretty sure. Come to think of it, if those three are getting friendly, they'd be a tough game to match,"

"Water, ice, and lightning," Yena shudders. "Death by either of those options doesn't sound very appealing. They can shock you when you're drowning as your toes fall off with frostbite,"

"You're full of the joys of life, aren't you?"

"So I've been told. What about those two over there?" She points in the direction of two girls who seem to be engaging in a very intense conversation on the other side of the deck.

"That's..." Yuri squints, narrowing her eyes. "Sorry, I left my glasses in my cabin, kinda hard to see,"

Yena quirks a brow. "Glasses, huh?"

Yuri huffs out a breath of air, putting up a shitty act at looking annoyed. "Shut up, glasses look cute on me," she raises her chin, and yeah, Yena can picture it. They probably suit her ridiculously well.

"Have to see it to believe it,"

"Whatever," Yuri peers closer at the pair. "That's Kim Minju and Kim Chaewon, I think. Minju is air, and Chaewon is..." she trails off, scrunching up her nose. "It's kind of hard to explain. Chaewon is astra,"

"Astra," Yena echos, and Yuri bobs her head in confirmation. "What's astra?"

Yuri looks up at the sky in thought. "It's like... an umbrella term, is how Sakura put it. Anything to do with the stars, the cosmos, all that galaxy shit,"

Yena stares at her. "And she can control that?" When Yuri hums, Yena can only stare. "What the fuck? That's insane,"

"And it's not all," Yuri adds. "Chaewon also has control over the astral plane, and I had no clue what it even was until Sakura told me. It's like..." she grunts, then sighs. "I can't even remember properly honestly. It's almost like another dimension? Another world? It's where your conscience goes after your physical death and before you're born. Spirits and things like that live there,"

 _"Spirits and things like that,"_ Yena repeats with a scoff. "Tell me you're joking. That's crazy,"

Yuri shrugs. "That's what Sakura said,"

"Which one is she?"

"The short haired one,"

The short haired girl looks over her shoulder from where she's talking to the other girl - Minju. Her eyes lock with Yena's, offering her a polite, tight lipped smile before turning back to look at Minju again. She's quite plain looking; wide, innocent looking eyes and short, choppy brown hair, and it's still blowing Yena's mind at just how completely and utterly ordinary everyone here seems to be. Minju is the same; mousy brown hair and - _wow, okay_ \- now that Yena's looking, beauty that could probably contend with Sakura's. They're huddled tightly together, so close that Yena wonders if they'd known each other before boarding the ship.

"See the really broad one over there? The big guy?" Yuri has already moved on, so Yena follows her line of sight. She's nodding in the direction of the group that Hyeongjun is with, specifically at one that's probably the most unlike Hyeongjun himself. Although their heights aren't vastly different, at a first glance this guy seems to tower over Hyeongjun. Where Hyeongjun is more on the lithe, scrawny side, this guy is muscular, well built. "That's Lee Hangyul. Earth. Wouldn't catch me picking a fight with a guy like him," Yuri remarks offhandishly. "It's like even a look from him would break your bones,"

At her first glance at Hangyul, yeah, Yena would agree, but now looking closer, she watches his attentiveness when Hyeongjun speaks, and automatically approves.

"Who's the really tall one?" She asks Yuri, nodding in the direction of a guy on Hyeongjun's right. He's not as built as Hangyul, yet nowhere near as small as Hyeongjun, and with his added height Yena thinks he must've been a real heartthrob wherever he'd come from.

"Kim Yohan, he's gravity I think? Which is pretty scary when you think about it, like if I were him I'd change the gravity and just be on the moon, like, all the time. Ah, and speaking of the moon," she points to the boy on Hyeonjun's left. He must be only a little taller than Yena herself, and he clings onto Hyeongjun's arm as he laughs, bent over. "That's Son Dongpyo, has lunar abilities or something,"

Yena hums before replying. "You know, if we all played nice and made friends, we could lowkey take over the world,"

Yuri bursts into laughter at that, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "How about we save that for another day,"

Yena rolls her eyes. "Boring,"

Yuri shakes her head, but she's grinning and grinning _wide_. "And the other guy is-"

"Hyeongjun,"

Yuri looks up at her, frowning. "You know him?"

Yena nods. "I met him when I arrived on the docks, neither of us had a clue what we were doing,"

"Oh," Yuri looks back at the group again. "So you uh, know all about him then,"

Yena bobs her head. "Nature and stuff. So that's how many now, nine? And including you and me that's eleven, so who's the twelfth?"

They both look for a while, eyes dragging along the vastness of the ship. Yena's just about to suggeat that the twelfth is still in their cabin, when Yuri speaks up. "There," she says. "By the entrance to the cabins,"

Yena turns in accordance, and true to Yuri's words, by the cabin's entrance, blocked by the shadows of the mast is a girl. From such a distance Yena can't make out much of her features, all she's able to see being her long, ebony hair that covers her face.

"Who is she?"

"Kang Hyewon," Yuri responds, voice a little tentative. "Metal. Sakura said that out of all the uh..." she hesitates. "the invitees, that she's the one they know the least about,"

"Is that my name I heard?" a familiar voice comes from somewhere behind Yena.

Turning, she sees Sakura coming towards them, and Yena feels an overwhelming urge to flatten out her hair. Sakura's appearance is as immaculate as the other two times that Yena's seen her, lips pink and skin seeming to soak up the midday sunlight. She's wearing a pale pink dress that flutters around her calves in the salty breeze, her smile like coming home from a biting winter's day.

Yeah, she's really fucking scary, Sakura.

"Having a bit of a gossip, Jo Yuri?" she asks much too cheerily, before turning to Yena and winking.

All of a sudden, drowning seems very appealing.

Next to Yena, Yuri sighs. "What do you want, Sakura?"

Sakura feigns offence, drawing her face into a displeased expression, somehow still looking breathtakingly beautiful while doing so. "You say it like I've come here wielding a massive machete, chill," she drawls. "I'm just letting you guys know that we should be arriving around seven. You'll have lunch before then,"

Yuri sighs pointedly again, putting her hands on her hips, and Yena wonders what her deal is. "Is that it?"

"Alright, alright, I get the message, I'm clearly not wanted," Sakura puts up her palms in defeat. "But hey," she directs her attention to Yena, grinning slyly. "You're welcome to want me anytime,"

At that, Yuri groans. " _Sakura_ ,"

"I'm going!" Sakura sing-songs, turning and waving behind her. "Remember, seven o' clock, _sharp,"_

And with that, she's gone.

Yena watches her go, before looking down at Yuri with amusement. "You clearly enjoyed that,"

Yuri rubs at her forearms. "I don't like her," she replies shortly, frowning at Sakura's retreating figure. "Something about her just... rubs me all the wrong ways,"

"I got that much,"

Yuri huffs, crossing her arms across her chest. "You only like her cuz she's pretty,"

Smiling smugly, Yena pokes at her inside of her cheek with her tongue. "It takes one to know one,"

Yuri glares, although there's a giveaway twitch to her lips that suggests she's not really mad. "You shouldn't trust people just because they're pretty, you know,"

"Does that mean you don't trust me then?" Yena arches a brow.

Yuri doesn't reply, for a moment, before speaking up, "Of course not," she says, raising her chin. "I hardly know you,"

Yena grins at her. "Smarter than you look,"

Ignoring Yuri's appalled gasp, it dawns on Yena that she hasn't felt an urge to light a cigarette today. 


	7. Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena meets her polar opposite.

The island comes into view around ten minutes before seven, right on the dot just as Sakura had promised. The eleven others have all gathered near the front of the ship in order to get a good view of their destination, and while they all are so tightly packed together, Yena has yet to talk to any of them besides Yuri and Hyeongjun. It's bizarre how quickly groups have begun to form, Yena already able to vaguely point out who's hanging around with who, not that she really minds all that much. While she may be curious about them - who they are and what they can do - she didn't show up here with the intention of making too many friends. Two is enough for her, and even with Hyeongjun and Yuri, she'd never go as far as to say that she trusts either of them. For now, they're good for conversation, wasting time and helping her not look like a complete outcast.

Not looking like Kang Hyewon.

There's something about that girl that shakes Yena slightly, something in the way that she completely isolates herself relatable. Maybe it's because it reminds her that she herself should be acting like that, keeping to herself and not letting out anything about who she is and what she can do. Hyewon replies in curt nods and low hums whenever someone tries to strike up a conversation or ask a question, a clear message that indicates _this conversation is over_. The more Yena looks at her, the more confused yet mystified she becomes. Kang Hyewon's face always retains the same poker expression, Kang Hyewon's eyes are always darting, analysing, greedy like they're trying to seek out any sort of information they can find. From where her sleeves fall past her fingertips, Yena sees bandages adorning her knuckles seeping through, she sees flashes of red that just prod at her curiosity.

But Yena isn't a child, and she certainly isn't a fool.

She scolds herself mentally.

 _God_ , she's smarter than this.

She decides to take a leaf out of Hyewon's book, and decides she'll stay more reserved. She's seen first hand what happens when you trust people - mostly because she's the one who is trusted.

So perhaps it wouldn't do her any harm to gain some trust while she's here. Not give, just get. It's half of the reason she's still alive after all. She's just gonna have to cope with applying it to a different situation.

Yuri comes to stand next to her, folding her arms to ward off the cold. She doesn't say anything, all of them just standing and watching as the strip of land on the horizon grows larger. With dusk enveloping them, the colours of the sky grow darker; dusty purples and deep indigos, stars spattered like white paint flicked from a brush. In the dark, Yena can see bright lights from the island being reflected on the seawater, neon pinks and greens writhing on the surface as the water ripples.

The closer they draw to the island, and the darker the night becomes, the easier it is to tell that the island looks like someone had taken a handful of central New York, fucked it up a bit, and thrown it into the sea. Skyscrapers are crowded together, towering high and almost menacingly, their windows reflecting the same saturated colours as the water. It's almost an eyesore, how unnatural and brilliantly luminous the colours are compared to the dull night sky, and Yena finds herself squinting at the sight. Thinking about it now, it's more like an iridescent, shimmering, floating chunk of Las Vegas, and Yena swears that if they've come this far for a party then she might have second thoughts about burning something to the ground.

"I don't know whether to think it's beautiful or fucking cheap," Yuri mumbles, sounding tired as her words jumble together when she speaks.

Yena doesn't respond in favour of leaning forward over the barrier, folding her arms across the top of it. She agrees with the latter part of Yuri's statement - the whole thing does look cheap. Cheap in the sense that it's excessive - they're trying too hard to show off this image of wealth and luxury and Yena will admit that it sends a funny feeling into her stomach. She's used to dealing with this sort of thing - not areas as saturated with wealth as this one tries to play off, but people who try and convince others that they're better than they actually are are Yena's speciality. With the small street gangs she's infiltrated, that scene is _ruthless_ in the sense that people are always greedy for _more more more_ , and you've got to do whatever you can do get to the top. And, well, a city is always a reflection of it's people. Shitty cities have a shitty government, so a try hard city will have kiss-ass people running it.

At least that makes it a bit more fun. Messing with dumb people is entertaining.

Drawing her eyes away from the city, Yena looks over her shoulder at Yuri, and that funny feeling in her stomach suddenly explodes. Yuri isn't doing anything special, not doing anything at _all_ really. She's just standing there, with her arms crossed, her soft brown hair drifting delicately around her face. But the lights from the island cast those same, gaudy colours onto her soft visage, shadows contrasting darkly with the vibrant hues. From the greens and blues staining her eyelashes, to the pinks and violets falling on her lips, Yena can't help but feel a strong mixture of infatuation and fucking indignation.

Infatuation because... well. She's looking like _that._ Effortlessly. Just standing there, without even trying. 

Indignation because she's not _supposed_ to be infatuated. Yena prides herself on her self control - her ability to be in control of herself at all times no matter the situation she's thrown into, she's always able to remain calm and collected. Now, just even setting her sights on this girl - who's doing nothing but just fucking _standing_ there - has her heart thudding wildly in her chest like she's fifteen years old again, and that makes her blood boil.

Brushing those thoughts under the rug, Yena simply labels them as her being attracted to Yuri's physical features. That isn't something she can prevent, right? It's not like there's a switch inside her mind that she can just flick and all of a sudden the kinds of people she finds attractive will change (a small voice in the back of her mind tells her that it's the exact same situation for emotional attraction. She ignores it).

Yena isn't dumb. She knows all too well that trust is fucking dangerous, and trusting someone a hundred percent is just as terrifying as it is craved. She's not going to make some rookie mistake like letting someone in like they've known her all her life, that isn't how the world works. Yuri even said it herself - you shouldn't trust someone just because they're pretty.

While all this is running through her head, she's unknowingly staring at Yuri blatantly with a thoughtful frown on her face, which causes Yuri to look at her funny. "What?" she asks.

Blinking out of her haze, Yena curses under her breath for not even knowing that she'd been staring, averting her gaze almost immediately to look back out at the island, which is much closer now compared to before. She waves a hand over her shoulder, a silent message that she hadn't meant it.

They eventually dock on the island (they arrived at exactly seven o'clock. If that didn't suffice for Yena's reasoning as to why Sakura might just be on of the scariest people she's ever met then she doesn't know what to tell you), with all twelve of them being ushered briskly off the galleon by the crew. Sakura reappears again (to Yuri's not-so-secret disdain), and insists that the girls are allowed off ahead of the boys when one of them - is it Wooseok? - tries to disembark first, exclaiming dramatically how chivalry is well and truly dead.

They begin to walk on the docks, the area void of people in the night, and the galleon one of the only ships docked. While this area may be quiet, the city up close almost seems to be alive, lights flashing so bright that Yena sees black spots dance behind her eyelids each time she closes her eyes.

Either Minju or Chaewon asks Sakura where they're going - Yena can't remember which, the one with the longer hair - to which Sakura just replies with a melodic giggle and an airy promise of "You'll see when we get there!" So none of them really know where they're going. Once they emerge from the docks, they're in the city almost immediately, as if the urban sprawl intended to swallow them at the first moment it seized. Navigating through the streets is like walking through a maze, with how tightly packed each of the buildings are, and Yena pities anyone with claustrophobia who's ever walked these streets.

It dawns on her that perhaps that is exactly the intention. To make you feel small, trapped. Like you're less than what you actually are.

Shuddering, Yena just continues to walk on, and the deeper they go into the city, the more people she sees. Most of them are immaculately dressed, and Yena's thoughts drift back to when she'd met Sakura for the first night, to when she'd registered just how lavish and opulent her clothing had been. They gather at street corners, the people, around buildings that don't tower as much, but rather come across like restaurants, clubs, bars and the likes instead of corporate structures. The women are dressed in exorbitant, scintillating dresses, drowning in jewellery and accessories that drip from their skin and weigh them down, clinging to the arms of smartly dressed men that have their hair slicked back from their foreheads.

Looking closer, Yena finds confusion in the fact that the majority of them come across as slightly tipsy, most of those standing outside a bar holding thin glasses filled much too high with sparkling, prismatic liquid. It's not them verging on drunk that concerns Yena (it's something she's all too familiar with, her early teenage self can relate on an emotional level), but it's the fact that it's so early in the night. It's what, quarter passed seven? Even people who don't go out that much would know that such a time is way too early, like shit, if it were Yena she reckons she'd only be getting ready at this stage.

Also it's what? Tuesday?

Who the fuck goes out to get drunk at seven on a Tuesday?

These people, apparently.

Distracted, Yena almost doesn't notice the gentle nudge that's delivered to her side, and the soft "Hey," that reaches her ears. Turning, she sees another girl has fallen into stride with her, and while Yena recognises her as one of the six others, she can't put a face to the name. It's not Yuri, obviously, and it's neither Minju nor Chaewon (Yena's come to learn that wherever one goes, the other is almost always in sight). It isn't Hyewon, because Hyewon is trailing behind the group, both out of sight and out of mind, and including Yena herself that's five girls, meaning-

"It's Choi Yena, isn't it?" Kwon Eunbi asks her, looking bright and refreshed from the boat ride over.

Yena stares at her blankly for a moment, face poker straight, before offering a curt nod.

Eunbi smiles at her, and it's warm, comforting. "I'm Kwon Eunbi," she pauses for a moment, keeping up with Yena without missing a beat. "I uh, don't know if you've heard but-"

"You're water," Yena cuts across her monotonously. "That's what you control. We're polar opposites,"

Eunbi offers her a sheepish grin. "Basically, yeah," she replies, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just don't want things to be like, awkward between us or whatever. Like I'm not saying that we have to be best friends or anything like that, but just... yeah," Eunbi trails off awkwardly.

"I get you, yeah," Yena smiles back at her, not wanting to be a complete bitch. "Thanks,"

Eunbi's grin again grows wider at that, a little skip to her step once Yena's lips turn upwards. "Cool," she responds. "I'll see you around, yeah? At whatever the fuck this thing is supposed to be,"

Yena snorts. "Sure thing," she nods. "See you around,"

Eunbi's eyes crinkle one last time before she falls out of step with her, falling behind and returning to whoever she'd been talking to previously. Despite the girl's kind words and generally friendly demeanour, Yena still refuses to let her guard down. No matter what this thing is, if their powers are somehow involved, Yena is fully aware that Eunbi is right at the top of her list of people to avoid, written in bold and underlined with a sharpie because water is known for being fire's main opposer.

That and lack of oxygen. Yena briefly wonders if Minju can suck all the oxygen out of the air. If she can then they're all fucked.   
  


━━━━  
  


They don't walk for much longer after that, maybe something close to ten, fifteen minutes, with Sakura unhesitatingly navigating them through the streets. She stops them at a corner, and for a moment Yena has to resist the urge to laugh because they honestly look like a group of tourists, all huddled together and hanging onto Sakura's every word.

"When we turn this corner," Sakura begins proudly, making no effort whatsoever to hide how pleased she is with herself. "We will be entering the heart of Empiriah's city, and hence, Empire itself,"

"Creative," Yena mutters, and she hears a snigger next to her. She knew that the people running this place would be up their own asses.

Sakura continues on. "Empire will be your hosts during your stay with us. Once you enter, there's no going back, just a little housekeeping rule," she claps her hands together cheerily, beaming in a way that brings out the apples of her cheeks. "Are we clear?"

"Wait, what?" A voice from the group calls out - one of the guys. "We can't go back? How long are you keeping us here for?"

Sakura's eyes dart towards the voice, and her smile twitches. "How long?" She presses a finger to her lips in faux thought, grin turning mischievous. "Well, it all depends on you. I suppose if you really wish to leave early, certain..." she pauses. "Arrangements could be made," her gaze scans the group beadily. "So do we have any volunteers to go first?" Her look hardens. "Unless, of course, someone wishes to drop out,"

To Yena's mild surprise, no one says anything. She herself doesn't really care. She might not know what's around the corner - literally - but she would wager a bet that it's more interesting than life back home.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you. And if Yena may add, she was fed quite well on that ship.

Sakura probably sees the shift in her expression, because as soon as their eyes lock, Sakura's gaze becomes a bit more hooded. "Yena," she purrs, and all eyes are suddenly on her.

Next to Yena, she hears Yuri groan quietly. "You've got to be kidding me,"

"You'll be the first, won't you?" Sakura drawls, honey dripping from her tongue as she speaks. "C'mon, you've got nothing to lose,"

And because Yena agrees with her, she takes a step forward. The group parts slightly, taking steps back to allow her to walk through, so she takes another step forward, and another, and another.

"Yena," Yuri behind her hisses quietly, and Yena turns to face her. Yuri's eyes seem to hold a glimmer of panic, desperation, her fingertips drumming madly against her thighs, restless looking. Her eyes carry around frantically before locking her gaze with Yena's. "What're you doing?"

Yena just looks at her, for a few moments, her lips pursed as the group just stand there, waiting. She thinks before replying. Then, she shrugs carelessly. "Good question,"

She turns back around before Yuri can respond and walks towards Sakura, out from the small group of twelve, and Sakura smirks at her. She leans in, catching Yena's sleeve and tugging her in closer so that her lips press against Yena's ear. "Knew you had it in you," she breathes, hot air brushing against Yena's helix causing her to shiver. "Knew you'd be the first," she lets Yena go then, and turns her to face around the corner. "Let's keep it that way, hm?"

Yena's unable to hold back the gasp that tumbles past her lips at the sight she's presented with. Standing tall and grand in the middle of a square, is a building that she can only describe as the largest, most impressive stadium she's ever seen. The outer layer being constructed completely of glass panes, the colours from the neon signs of the city make the stadium seem as though it contains every colour of the rainbow, climbing high into the sky as it curls inwards towards the top. All of the other streets lead towards the square, meaning that the stadium almost acts as a focal point for the city, and Yena can definitely understand why. Flags soar high from where the outside of the building curls inwards, and Yena can't quite describe it but there's a certain _vibe_ that the building gives off that makes her want to see more.

Without even knowing it, she's waking forwards and towards it, completely unaware of the questions of "What is it?" and "What can you see?" being thrown in her direction.

She feels Sakura give an encouraging push to her shoulder, and can hear the grin in her voice when she speaks. "Welcome to Empire, hotshot,"


	8. Slow and Steady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena receives an offer that she can't refuse.

"We shouldn't have done this,"

They're stood outside a set of large, bronze double doors, ones that Sakura had slipped on the inside of with her finger pressed to her lips before leaving them on their own. They're inside the building, all twelve of them, after navigating through grand looking corridors with gold gilded pillars and plush velvet carpets.

Yena turns to look at Yuri, who'd spoken. Yuri looks around at the group fretfully, holding onto her elbow with the opposite arm. Yena tilts her head. "What makes you say that?"

Yuri gives her a dumbfounded look. "Are you kidding me?" She hisses. "We have no fucking idea where we've been taken! _God,_ this is so _dumb,"_

Yena only arches a brow. "Have you got anything to lose?" She asks, a bit smarter than she had intended to sound. She regrets how the words sounded the moment they slip past her lips.

Yuri glares, straightening up and rolling her shoulders back. Her and Yena are just about eye to eye in terms of height, Yena maybe a little taller, although it doesn't seem evident at all with how Yuri is staring her down. "Maybe I do, actually," she bites out, her glare lingering for a moment or two, her eyes flicking across Yena's face, before she lets out a huff, turning away.

Before she even knows what she's doing, Yena's taken a hold of her forearm.

Yuri turns back around, startled, glare wiped off her face and replaced with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. She purses her lips, brows knitted. "What," she says it as a statement rather than a question, the single word punctuated with a sigh.

Yena isn't quick enough to think of what she wants to say. She stands there, silent, Yuri's sleeve loosening in her grasp before shaking her head. "That-" she clears her throat awkwardly. "That came out wrong,"

Yuri gives her a funny look, almost bordering on concerned. "It did, yeah," she speaks slowly. "Are you... like are you okay?"

Yena lets go of her sleeve, letting her own arm go limp by her side. Clicking her tongue, she stuffs her hands into her pockets. "I am," she nods, almost as if she's trying to convince herself. God, she knows that she said that she was going to ensure that she didn't get too close to anyone, but that was just uncalled for. Isn't she supposed to be experienced with shit like this now? "Sorry, that was like, seriously bitchy,"

"No, I get where you're coming from," Yuri's voice drops a little, quieter, looking around at the group of people. "I think..." she nibbles at her lower lip. It's kind of endearing. "I think a lot of people here don't have much to lose honestly. Why else would you agree?"

"Well then why did you?"

Yuri smiles dryly. "I'm not a fucking wimp, I was hardly gonna back down if no one else was," she admits. "I'm a bit of a crowd follower, unfortunately,"

At that moment, the set of bronze doors open the smallest amount, Sakura's head appearing round the corner before she slinks out of the room she was just in, carefully and silently closing the door behind her. "Ok," she whisper-shouts. "Are you guys ready?"

One of the boys looks at Sakura incredulously. "Ready for what?"

Sakura points a finger at him. "Touché," she blatantly ignores the way the guy throws his hands up in defeat, sweeping her eyes across the small group. "How are we looking..?" she enunciates the last part of her sentence, elongating the last syllable as she takes in each person's appearance. Yena subconsciously flattens out her hair, and then scolds herself because _really_ , since when did she start giving two fucks about things like that?

Sakura claps her hands together once, leaving her fingers interlocked. "Okay, it's showtime ladies and gents,"

Either Minju or Chaewon splutters - Yena still doesn't know which is which, it's the one with the shorter hair. "Showtime?"

Again, Sakura ignores her. "When you go inside, you're gonna walk into the centre of the arena, alright? There'll be cushions, just sit on them, and for fuck's sake, mind your P's and Q's. You really don't wanna mess up this first impression, trust me," she simpers. "Get through this, and then the real fun'll start,"

Eunbi throws up her hands in frustration. "Ok this is literally so ridiculous. Can you please just tell us what the fuck we're supposed to be doing here?"

Sakura's expression turns from coy to sharp within a fraction of a second. She looks Eunbi up and down, lips curling into a sneer, taking a step towards her. The tension turns suffocating, choking, as Sakura and Eunbi stand nose to nose. Sakura just regards her like she's something beneath her, something to be looked down upon, while Eunbi sets her jaw and raises her chin. "What you're supposed to be doing?" Sakura's tone is light and airy, dangerously quiet, and Yena sees Eunbi swallow. Sakura takes a hold of Eunbi's chin with her thumb and forefinger, and the tension is as brittle as a thin sheet of glass. "You're supposed to be doing what I tell you to," Sakura responds smoothly, a wide, tight lipped smile smeared on her face.

Yena sees Eunbi's breath hitch in her throat with the way her shoulders jolt slightly, and for a brief moment a confused expression passes over her face. Like she isn't quite sure how she got into this situation in the first place.

Then, her look hardens. Her hand flies up to grip at Sakura's wrist, and only to Yena's mild surprise does Sakura let out a sound of interest. "Oh?" she smirks, biting her tongue between her teeth before Eunbi tears the other girl's grip off of her chin.

Almost as if on cue, a bell resounds loudly within the room behind the door, and Sakura perks up to attentiveness like a fox. "That's your cue!" she exclaims excitedly. "Yeongsik will explain everything, and that's like a fifty per cent promise,"

Out of the corner of her eye, Yena sees Eunbi rolling her eyes, shaking her head. "Unbelievable,"

Sakura opens the door, just slightly, only just about enough for a person to pass through, and Yena wouldn't be at all surprised if she were doing it just to keep them suspenseful for that tiny bit longer. At first, nobody moves, to which Sakura gives them a pointed look. "Well?" she asks, placing her free hand on her hip. "Have none of you ever walked through a door before?"

At this, it's one of the boys that takes it upon himself to slip through the door first, all of them huddling closer to it like students filtering out of a classroom. There's a presence behind Yena that she senses, and there's a playful nudge to her shoulder.

"We're definitely dying in here," it's Eunbi's voice.

Yena will admit that she snickers at that. She seems decent, Eunbi. "Oh, naturally,"

They each pass through the door one by one, Sakura filtering them through, and Yena can't hear anything that comes from the other side. By the time she's next, she purposefully avoids Sakura's invasive gaze, slipping through without creating too much of a fuss. And the sight she's greeted with... Yena does a double take.

Yena realises that she probably should've taken Sakura more seriously when the word _arena_ had fallen past her lips, because _shit_ , this is so far beyond her imagination in ways she can't even comprehend. It is an arena, yes, but the word alone doesn't nearly do the place justice. The arena is large, the floored area polished marble around the size of a large football pitch, but round, gleaming with flecks of gold catching the light. Substantially sized pillars made of the same material line the walls in a circle, trimmed with pale stone that holds the same colours as the walls. The walls climb high, high as a crowd would if this actually were a stadium like Yena had originally guessed. Instead of having an open ceiling, far overhead the arena are small, tessellating panes of glass. All placed at different angles, they're set in a way that when the moonlight shines on them, the silvery hues are displaced all around the room. Other than the moon itself, flaming torches line the walls, and the sight of them sets Yena at ease slightly.

God, she fucking hates that. Taking comfort in something like that, it's fucking _loathsome_. But she isn't going to deny it.

Involuntarily, she shivers.

On the opposite side of the room, a large, grand seat - almost a throne - is placed at a high point, red steps leading up to it on each side. And while it's quite impressive as seats go, Yena is more interested in the man sitting on it.

He's probably in his late forties, early fifties, if Yena were to guess, his greying hair and the starting of wrinkling in his face something to go by. A fu-manchu style moustache hides his thin upper lip, dripping down past his chin on one side while he absent mindedly strokes the other. While a _yanggwan_ headpiece hides his hair, Yena can see wisps of it curling above his ear, a mixture of black and grey she would have to guess. He's wearing traditional dress, something Yena hasn't seen in a long time, and even from a distance she has no doubt that they're more costly than ten of her flats combined. A deep red in colour, the robes are smartly trimmed with gold, and if Yena saw him in a history book she wouldn't think twice about it. Dressed like that and sitting on such a throne, Yena could've easily been fooled into thinking he were a king at some stage.

For a glimmer of a second, Yena's eyes lock with the man's, but at the same time it feels as though his gaze is slightly off. His eyes are thin, snake like almost, with a jagged scar running across the left, and- ah. That's why it doesn't look as though he's looking right at her. In regards the eye with the scar running through his flesh, in the eye itself, in line with the scar is a crooked, wonky line of milky white. It's left his pupil and iris in the same eye distorted, his pupil almost having the appearance as though it had been popped and begun to dribble outside of the brown which encases it.

Yena immediately averts her gaze.

Once they're all inside, they sit on cushions that have been placed in the middle of the floor, silence frangible, and it's so quiet that it's almost suffocating. No one says anything for a while, the twelve of them sharing looks of panic and confusion, while the man just continuously looks at each of them. Sakura has crossed the arena, standing next to the small set of stairs leading up to his throne with her hands clasped behind her back, looking just as amused as usual. She catches Yena's eye, pressing her pointer finger to her lips and winking.

"Have you ever heard the tale of the tortoise and the hare?"

Yena takes a moment to assimilate that the man has spoken up at last, peering at him and not knowing quite what to think.

The man isn't looking at any of them, rather appearing as though he's deep in thought. "It's quite an interesting story, wouldn't you agree?" he ponders aloud. "I couldn't agree with it less,"

Those words cause Yena to hesitate.

"Slow and steady wins the race. Such an unrealistic saying, to feed into the minds of children. An empty, meaningless comfort," he looks at the group then, as if he's only realising now that they're actually there. He sits up straighter. "This world does not have time for those who indulge in such feeble fantasies. I'm sure from experience you all know what I mean," he regards them with a strange look of knowing in his eyes, before leaning back in his seat. He shares the same amused expression as Sakura. "No need to be so tense, you all look like you've seen a ghost. I've been assured that this certainly isn't the most difficult of situations you've been put into," he smiles at them, but it doesn't give off the warm, welcoming vibe that a smile should. "I'd like to welcome you all to Empire. My name is Park Yeongsik, I will be your host during your stay here,"

"Sorry, but what are we doing here?" one of the boys asks, and Sakura's and Yeongsik's gazes simultaneously dart to where he sits as quick as lightning.

"Kim Yohan, isn't it?" Yeongsik drones, almost bored sounding, and Yohan nods gingerly. "Well, I think that your situation might be slightly different to everyone elses," when Yohan only looks at him, Yeongsik turns to Sakura. "Do you have one of the cards that you gave them?"

Nodding brightly, Sakura leafs around inside the pockets of her jacket before producing a copy of the small, black card that Yena has kept safely stored away in her back pocket.

"Read it out," Yeongsik says, leaning back in his seat, and Yena really doesn't like where this is going. From somewhere in the building, a clock ticks resoundingly, each tick punctuating the silence.

Holding out the card in front of her, Sakura reads what is written. "Nine p.m sharp on the docks, no company, no weapons,"

"No weapons," Yeongsik muses, stroking his wisp of a beard. "Why do you defy me, Kim Yohan?"

Yohan's face immediately turns defensive, eyebrows slanted, and it's easy for Yena to tell that he's been caught out. "I don't-"

"Don't deny it," Yeongsik is undoubtedly confident, and Yena wonders how he knew. "There's a hunting knife on the inside of your jacket, in a pocket,"

As Yohan protests, Yena sees the doors behind them open, in bustling two men, and everything happens so fast that she's not able to keep up. The group is stirred, most of them standing up and huddling together, moving out of the two men's way. There's pushing, shoving, and Yena is too short to see over the tops of heads. Someone calls out Yohan's name in warning, and there's the sharp clicking of metal ricocheting off the walls. Through a gap in between two people's heads, Yena catches a glimpse of the two men, their hands on Yohans shoulders as they shove him to his knees, Yohan's hands behind his back. He's struggling, writhing, trying to stand up, but his attempts are fruitless,

Yena tilts her head to the side. "He can't use his powers," she mutters, thinking aloud, and Yuri turns to look at her sharply.

"What?" Yuri's visage is a mixture of disturbed and straight up horrified. She's pressed closer to Yena than she was before. "He- what? How do you-"

"Just look," Yena gestures towards him, her voice quieter so that no one hears them. "He's trying, but he can't,"

Yohan continues to struggle, teeth gritting as one of the men forcefully reaches inside of Yohan's jacket, pulling out a small dagger, worn with a jagged hilt and dull blade. At the top of the room, Yeongsik tuts, shaking his head. "What a shame," he doesn't sound very disappointed. "Dispose of it," he speaks to the two men who have hauled Yohan to his feet at this stage. "And with him... you know,"

The two men reply with curt nods, and tugging Yohan along, they disappear from Yena's view as they become blocked by the row of heads above her line of sight. With the sounds of struggle Yohan's emitting, Yena's not all too sure she wants to see.

Perhaps Yuri was right. Perhaps they shouldn't have done this.

_What the fuck._

"What the fuck?" somewhere in the front of the group, Eunbi exclaims loudly, and Yena wills for the girl's sake that she zips her mouth shut. "Where are you taking him? You can't just-"

"Please remain calm, Ms. Kwon," Yeongsik drones from the top of the room, however Eunbi persists.

"Stay calm? How the fuck do you expect me to stay calm when you just cuffed one of us?"

"Because," Yeongsik's grin spreads across his face in a manner that reminds Yena of a hyena. "I have a offer for those of you that obeyed my rules that I feel you'll find quite hard to refuse,"

Eunbi scoffs. "Fucking try me," she spits out, and Yeongsik simply ignores her. He's quite good at that actually, him and Sakura.

"Empire, you see," he stands up, fingers lacing together through the sleeves of his robes. "Is a competition. A tournament, if you will,"

That seems to garner the group's attention, and Yena won't deny that at the word competition, something inside of her itches hungrily. She's always been a sucker for competition, for the thrill and euphoria that runs through her veins that comes with a victory.

"The prize for Empire, I can assure you will be very rewarding. Riches that you can't even fathom await the victor of my tournament,"

If the word competition doesn't get Yena hooked, then the word riches certainly does. Up until now, she's been living by using the classic method of beg, borrow, steal, however it's hardly enough to get by. At the word riches, it's not hard to imagine what might be going through her mind.

Everone must be sporting similar expressions to her, because Yeongsik hums lowly, satisfied. "There we go," he nods to himself. "Get eliminated from the tournament, and like Yohan, you'll be on the first ship back home," Yeongsik says. "Simple, no?"

"What do we have to do?" Yena finds herself speaking before she can stop herself.

Yeongsik looks her in the eye, just as bone chilling as before. He tilts his head.

"Why, you'll fight each other of course,"


	9. Ebony, Sapphire, Oak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena has a few guests.

"Why, you'll fight each other of course,"

At those words, the group breaks out into conversation almost immediately, angered words flitting from one mouth to the next. Yena herself grows tense - the first thing that had come to her mind when the word _tournament_ had been mentioned was sports or something like that, not physical combat. Out of curiosity, her eyes dart to Kwon Eunbi, who's staring at her with a blank, unreadable expression. 

_I just don't want things to be like, awkward between us or whatever._

Yena's look hardens, and doesn't break her gaze. Eunbi only looks away once Yeongsik continues to speak. "Naturally, we won't be getting into things right away. You'll need time to prepare and rest, to get to know what makes one another... tick,"

Tick. Come to think of it, Yena can't hear the clock anymore.

"You'll all stay in separate rooms, during your stay here. I trust they'll be to your liking. You'll be shown to them in a few moments, and room service will be provided this evening,"

Yena frowns. It's too good to be true. There's too many positives that outweigh the negatives, there's no way that someone that seemingly possesses this much power would be giving up all this for free. Other people look to be cynical too, someone murmuring a hushed "Why do I feel like there's a but?"

"Tonight, however," Yeongsik says, and Yena nods to herself. Here it comes. "Tonight will be a little different to the others that you'll have here. Tonight will be about celebration, a gathering. It's the first time you've all been together in the same room after all,"

"Yeah, and that lasted a solid five minutes," someone remarks snidely, and if Yeongsik notices he doesn't comment on it. Yena thinks she sees his good eye twitch a little.

"A dance," Yeongsik announces.

Yena's eyeballs almost pop right out of their sockets.

"A dance will be held this evening. Which, in turn, means that you will require a dance partner,"

Somewhere amongst the crowd, Yena spots two hands intertwine with each others, and it doesn't take much for her to guess that they're more than likely Chaewon's and Minju's (she still doesn't know which one is which). Yeongsik seemingly spots it too, because a slippery grin smears across his lips, his eyes glinting maliciously. "A dance partner of the opposite gender,"

A little sad, Yena watches as one of the two girls softly slips her palm out of the other's.

Next to her, Yuri scoffs. "Talk about heteronormality. Why should I have to dance with a guy?"

Yena pokes her tongue at the inside of her cheek, not bothering to hide her smirk or the smugness in her tone. She stares straight ahead of her as she speaks. "Why, were you envisioning I'd dance with you?"

Even though she's only in Yena's peripheral vision, she can see the way Yuri's shoulders jolt when she scoffs. "In your dreams," she squawks under her breath.

Yena doesn't respond, satisfied that she'd ruffled Yuri's feathers slightly. She feels a gentle tug on the sleeve of her hoodie, so she turns around to see Hyeongjun peering at her with urgency written all over his face. He looks around for a moment before speaking to her under his breath. "Just go with me," he hisses. "There's one less boy now that Yohan's gone, one girl won't have a partner. It's easier for the both of us, plus..." he trails off, eyes wandering over to Yeongsik. "I've got a bad feeling about whatever's going to happen to the girl who's left out,"

Yena replies with a silent nod, a little dazed, as Hyeongjun lets go of her sleeve, and she turns back around to face the front. It hadn't even occurred to her that with Yohan gone, one of the girls would be left without a dance partner, and now that he mentioned it, she herself doubts that it'll be smooth sailing for whichever girl is to be left on their own.

If anyone else notices it, no one speaks up.  
  
  
  
  
  


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"And here's the key to your room. You may enter and exit it whenever you wish, however your curfew is eleven each night. Wandering around the corridors at night is forbidden, and you may only leave your room once it is six a.m,"

Yena gingerly takes the old fashioned key out of the woman's palm, cool to the touch and slightly heavy. The woman is dressed like a geisha, skin as white as snow and blush like summer strawberries blooming on her cheeks. A detailed kimono hangs from her shoulders, intricately designed and admittedly beautiful on the eyes, and her lips are stained a berry red. She constantly has the same, tight lipped smile on her face as she speaks to Yena, and won't look her in the eyes.

"Outside of tournament events, you are forbidden from using your..." the woman swallows, tilting her head to the side. "Your powers, to cause bodily harm to others. Failure to comply with Empire's rules-"

"Will result in my expulsion, yeah yeah, I hear you," Yena cuts her off, kind of growing restless of the woman's droning and constant swift glances like if she looks at her for too long she'll actually set her on fire. She fits the key into the lock, fiddling with it to unlock the door. "Listen, do you have a problem with me or something?" she asks, lathering a sigh over her words, just for effect.

The woman blinks at her for a moment, before offering her another tight lipped smile, still not looking directly at her. "Of course not, Miss," she bows to her, words ridiculously insincere. "Please, enjoy your stay,"

Yena unlocks the door, hearing it click before she opens it up and steps inside. She gives the woman a grin, just as insincere as her words. "I think I will," she responds, before promptly shutting the door behind her.

Exhaling slowly, Yena shakes her head softly, locking the door with her key she'd been given. On the opposite side, she hears muffled grumbling, and footsteps that grow quieter and quieter the more they tread on. Stuffing the key into her pocket, Yena ruffles her hair, trying to tame the mess that her fringe has become as she turns around to drink in the sight of her room. She's never stayed inside a hotel room before, but Yena imagines that this room looks just like one. It's spacious - ridiculously so, and because she's alone she doesn't even attempt to hide her awed expression. Pressed up against the wall on her left is a king sized bed, with only one set of pillows placed in the middle, indicating it's been made up for one person instead of two. The walls are painted cream, and are lowly lit in the night, holding an array of pieces of art. On the wall furthest from Yena - well, it's not a wall really, just a large window that spans from the floor to the ceiling, which from looking at it, she assumes slides open to allow her to walk onto the balcony outside. Large, plush armchairs decorate the area on Yena's right, along with a large portrait mirror and a miniature dining table holding a bowl of fruit.

"Shit..." Yena breathes out, slowly walking inside. Even the grey carpet beneath her feet feels expensive under the soles of her shoddy combat boots. There's a door on her right, next to the mirror, and she experimentally pushes down on the handle. It opens, revealing a bathroom that trumps the opulence of the one on the ship. It's probably around four times the size of Yena's room back in her flat (Yena doesn't really know, she was never any good at maths. The bathroom alone is larger than that of her entire flat, she knows that's for certain), pristine white and smelling like jasmine and honeysuckle. There's a toilet and a sink, which had really been all Yena had been expecting, but after being shown the palatial features of this building she really should have come to assume otherwise. There's also a stand alone shower made entirely of glass, and a marble bath with taps made out of gold. There's a shelf displaying ointments and hair solutions and body scrubs and bath salts and all these products that Yena is sure she'll have no clue how to use.

It's around eight o'clock now right? Yeongsik said that the dance isn't due to start until half nine, so she has time. Eyeing the bath, Yena shrugs to herself. It's not like she's got anything better to do (she just wants to try out the expensive looking bath, sue her).

By the time she's run the water and clambered inside the tub, steam and soft droplets of condensation have already begun to cling to the mirror above the sink and to the glass of the shower. She'd dunked some of those sweetly scented salts into the water, giving it a soft pink haze and an aroma of roses that wafts throughout the humid room. She scrubs the grime off her skin that's accumulated over the past few days, and douses her hair in ointments and solutions that leave her feeling like a scented candle.

She relaxes for a while, letting her eyelids droop shut, the piping hot water shifting around her like silk. When was the last time she had a bath anyway? It can't have been for years. She stays in there for she doesn't know how long, staying until the water shrivels her skin up like a prune, and the light coming from above gets a little lost in the faint clouds of steam hanging like silk from the ceiling.

Then, she hears voices.

Sitting up to attention almost immediately, water drips from her shoulders, her hair and falls into the bath with insistent plops. The voices follow the opening of the door, which Yena is certain she locked, all sort of merging together into one, tinkling sort of sound. Cursing under her breath, Yena stands up, grimacing at the less than quiet sounds the water makes.

"Hello? Miss?" the voice that calls out is obviously directed at her. It's high, light and feminine. Then, quieter, it asks "Is she here?"

"They've been brought up, haven't they?" Another asks, which is met by a hum of a reply.

Yena guesses there's what, three of them out there? Gritting her teeth, she steps out of the bath, reaching for a towel to wrap herself in. With water dripping on the floor from her chin, her elbows, the strands of her hair, she makes her way over to the door of the bathroom, gingerly placing her hand on the door handle before sharply swinging it open.

She's met face to face with a girl, with her knuckles raised like she'd just been about to knock on the door. Surprised yelps escape both their mouths, and a string of apologies immediately tumble past the girl's lips. Her hair is startling, a bright, sapphire blue and long, falling over her shoulders as she bows in soft, immaculately perfect waves. "Oh my god I'm literally so sorry I had no idea you were in there-"

"Yujin!" Another voice exclaims, scolding, and two more girls come into view. The one who had spoken is tall, with long, sleek ebony hair. Like the blue haired girl, Yena notices, all three of them are dressed in pale, pastel suits. "Don't tell me you just walked in on- oh my god," the dark haired girl slaps a hand over her eyes.

Yena gives her a funny look, eyes darting to the final girl, who's shaking her head in exasperation. "I'm... wearing a towel. It's ok,"

The dark haired girl peeks past her fingers gingerly. "I know. I don't want to be rude," she whispers loudly, which really defeats the purpose of whispering in the first place.

The other girl who'd appeared - looking older than the other two - facepalms. She's shorter than the both of them in comparison, her straight hair the colour of oak wood. "I apologise on behalf of them both. Here, actually," she reaches out to the wardrobe next to her, reaching inside before producing a fluffy bath robe. "Go back inside there and dry off, pop this on you. Don't mind these two,"

A little taken aback, Yena nods dumbly, taking the robe off the girl and stepping back inside the bathroom. As she shuts the door, she hears the eldest scolding the two younger ones, and an involuntary smile breaks out on her lips. _What the fuck even is this place?_  
  
  
  
  
  


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"And so then, I told her that I was going to take Wonyoung away from her and that we were both going to go far, far away and become way more successful than anyone could ever imagine, but she didn't believe me, obviously,"

Yena nods along, that same smile still persistent on her lips, shaking her head softly as she listens to the blue haired girl ramble on about her entire life story. Her name is Yujin, she'd informed Yena with a childish, lopsided grin, and even though she has the face of a child her stature is much too tall for Yena's liking. She's a hair stylist, and she has Yena sat down comfortably in front of a mirror, while she spritzes an array of liquids onto her hair as she curls it with heat.

The dark haired girl is named Wonyoung, Yena comes to learn, and she specialises in make-up. She contributes enthusiastically to Yujin's story, adding in little details intermittently, pulling faces or providing shakes and bobs of her head at the appropriate parts of the far fetched tale. She's even younger than Yujin is, possibly fifteen or so, however like Yujin she possesses height that Yena herself envies. She dabs at Yena's face with sponges and brushes lathered in product that she can't even name, occasionally quietly asking Yena to contort her face into bizarre expressions with a sheepish smile on her face as to not interrupt Yujin's story. Yena doesn't even remember the last time she wore makeup - has she ever even done so? It's never exactly been at the top of her list of priorities, also from what she's seen that shit is damn expensive.

The other girl, older than both Yujin and Wonyoung, is named Chaeyeon. Chaeyeon is a seamstress, a stylist, and the first thing she does once Yena emerges from the bathroom with a towel on her head and a fluffy bathrobe wrapped around her body is request to take her measurements. Ever since then, she's been heavily focused on weaving a needle through a large piece of fabric that looks suspiciously like a dress, snipping rapidly with a scissors at excess cloth with a concentrated expression woven into her features.

Yena's dealt with enough people to know that despite the fact that it looks like Chaeyeon's attention is a hundred per cent focused on the sewing, totally undivided, Yena can see that she's paying rapt attention to what Yujin and Wonyoung are saying. And maybe she herself doesn't even realise it - Yena thinks that it's almost a motherly instinct that kicks into her when it comes to these to.

And honestly, Yena doesn't blame her. She herself has become sort of endeared by the pair's excited rambling, so much so that each time she goes to wipe the smile off her face, it simply comes back, unbeknownst to her, each and every time.

"So then I took Wonyoungie away, just as I said I would, and we ran off in the middle of the night and we didn't really know where we were going but we had food and we had water and we had each other so we really didn't-" Yujin stops to take in a breath, then continues on. "-really mind all that much but it was kinda hard because we had no sort of direction but we eventually came to Master Yeongsik's place and he was really sweet to us and he offered us both jobs and-"

"Breathe, Yujin," Chaeyeon calls from where she's perched on the bed, voice slightly muffled as she holds onto her needle in between her teeth.

"Sorry," in the reflection, Yena sees Yujin blush, right before she ducks behind Yena's head to further tend to her hair.

"And now we're here," Wonyoung closes off the story. "We were told we wouldn't be successful, and now we're tending to you," she taps Yena's cheek to get her to look at her. "Do this?" she requests, sucking in her cheeks as demonstration, to which Yena complies.

"Please don't think that doing my makeup qualifies as success," Yena speaks once Wonyoung has finished applying a darker powder to her cheeks. "Like don't get me wrong, you're- you're _brilliant_ , but just- don't let the people you work with determine your skill level,"

Up so close to her, as Wonyoung applies a gloss to her lips, she halts for a moment. She gives Yena a look she can't exactly describe; a mixture of impressed, surprised, and grateful. "I'll remember that," is all she replies with, however her tone is anything but short. Yena can tell she's touched.

And looking in the mirror at Chaeyeon, Yena can tell that she's touched too.

It only takes a short while longer for them to finish up, Yujin sorting through the baby hairs that frame Yena's face before taking a step back. "And... done! What do you think?"

Admittedly, Yena's been so focused on what the two girls are saying that she's kinda forgotten that she's in the midst of a makeover. So, she takes a moment to drink in the sight of herself, and surprised that she doesn't totally hate it. In fact, she actually... kind of loves it.

Yujin and Wonyoung didn't do what she'd expected them to do, take apart her features as she knows them and transform them into something entirely different. No, what the pair of them have done is almost- they've taken the assets of her face and her hair alike and enhanced them, bringing out the best in her physicalities. Yujin has smoothed out her fringe, yet allowed it to retain some of it's natural character, her hair as straight as it was before, yet sleeker and silkier, curled at the ends in soft waves. Wonyoung has played around a lot with the reds in her colour palette, pulling a deep scarlet colour into shape around her eye lids, and a matching tone is placed delicately on her lips and glossed over with to add an extra shine. Her cheeks too, blossom like roses, and her complexion as a whole is that bit smoother, that bit sharper. Their work is subtle, however extremely effective.

"I don't even know what to say," Yena admits, lifting a hand up to her hair but too afraid to touch it. "You're both very talented,"

"That's ok," Yujin beams, looking pleased with herself.

Shit, they're kind of adorable.

"Here," Chaeyeon calls out. She's holding the bundle of fabric in her arms, and Yena goes over to take it from her. "Go try this on,"

"This is so... absurd," Yena says with disbelief. "Like I don't even-" she cuts herself off with a sigh, shaking her head. "Thank you so much,"

Chaeyeon regards her with the same look Wonyoung had earlier. "No problem. No go try that thing on, I'm dying to see how it looks on you,"


	10. Victory is Sweet, Greed is Sweeter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Yena wonders what would have happened.

"Oh, _wow_ ,"

Yena steps out of the bathroom with a flush to her cheeks, her hands wrung awkwardly in front of her. She refuses to look up, gaze set on being trained on the floor. She'd put on the dress that Chaeyeon had given her, although dress seems like a bit of an understatement. It's more like a gown, something so ridiculously opulent yet oddly simplistic and Yena can hardly bare to even so much as brush against it with her fingertips out of fear that she may damage it. The skirt of the gown is a deep scarlet in colour, similar to the shade of the skin of an apple, reaching as far down as her feet. It's made from several layers of georgette fabric that sways mesmerisingly around her ankles with each step she takes, tiny, sparkling diamonds woven into the fabric in random areas appearing like stars on the night of a lunar eclipse. Those diamonds are hardly even visible when compared to the large, chunkier ones that encircle her waist. There's three horizontal rows of them, acting as a barrier between the skirt and the bodice, pinching in her waist without causing her any form of discomfort. The bodice is a satin of a deeper scarlet, off the shoulder, and it just- it's so pretty and elegant yet something just doesn't feel _right._

She catches sight of herself in the mirror, Yena, and halts for a moment.

God.

God, _shit._ This isn't right, this isn't _her._

"You don't like it," Chaeyeon speaks up right away, nothing like disappointment or accusation in her tone, but it almost sounds like she'd been expecting it.

"No no, I- I mean it's stunning," Yena rushes to assure her, brushing her hair over her shoulders. "Just... fuck, this isn't _me,_ " she sighs, before slapping a hand over her mouth, casting a guilty look in Wonyoung and Yujin's direction. "Sorry," she mumbles behind her palm. "I shouldn't swear,"

"It's ok!" Wonyoung assures her brightly, hastily, although unlike Chaeyeon she looks a little down at Yena's remarks about her appearance. "It's ok, we don't mind,"

"We're sorry, Yena," Chaeyeon sighs, rubbing at her forehead. "I had a feeling it wouldn't suit you but... it's what we were told to do,"

"No really, don't apologise, it's no one's fault," Yena shakes her head, turning around to look at the three of them instead of conversing with their reflections in the mirror. She can't look any of them in the eye, so she looks around at the room instead. "It's just like... this whole place is so lavish and like, high end, and I'm not used to that at all," she looks down at her dress. "You guys seriously did such a beautiful job, thank you so much,"

Even though Yena isn't looking at her, she can hear the smile in Chaeyeon's tone. "You're welcome,"

A silence like a cloud hangs over them then, settling awkwardly and making the atmosphere that bit more tense, and Yena swallows. She doesn't know what to do with her hands, constantly fidgeting and then putting them behind her back, lacing them in front of her, and then before she knows it she's fidgeting again.

Wonyoung and Yujin have wandered back over to the vanity, packing away all of the stuff they'd used when they'd styled Yena and tidying up. They converse amongst one another lowly, almost as if to not shatter the brittle silence.

"They're sweet, aren't they?" Chaeyeon says quietly with a fond smile on her face, speaking to Yena with her eyes trained on the other pair.

Yena offers a polite hum as a reply.

Chaeyeon sits herself down on the bed, crossing her arms and letting out a soft exhale. "They never really got a proper upbringing, as far fetched as their story seems they really went through some tough shit to make it through," she looks up at Yena then, arching a brow. "Do you guys really know nothing about this place? Nothing at all?"

Yena blinks at her, taken off guard. "I've no clue what's going on, if I'm honest with you," she admits, sitting down on the bed next to her. "I'm only really here cuz-"

"Because you've got nothing better to do?" Chaeyeon intervenes, giving Yena a knowing smile when she gapes at her like she'd just read her mind. "It's the same with the others, or so I've heard. People like you aren't meant to lead normal lives,"

Yena thinks about it. Hyeongjun, who'd been accused of being a freak of nature by his classmates. Minju and Chaewon, who depend on each other like the year depends on the changing of the seasons. And Yuri-

Yena finds herself wanting to know more about Yuri.

She reigns herself back in, shaking her head. "Then what are we here for? Why? How does everyone here know... _everything_?"

Chaeyeon grins, seeming almost pleased that she holds all the answers that Yena's been itching to know. "Empiriah is the island we're on right now, and it neither exists nor is it non existent,"

Yena opens her mouth to speak because _first of all, what the fuck,_ which she then promptly shuts when Chaeyeon raises a finger to stop her.

"Empiriah has no set location, and those who don't directly seek it out will never find it. The island only shows itself to those that ask for it,"

"I didn't ask for jack shit," Yena retorts.

Chaeyeon sends her a look. "You're ruining my climax,"

"Sorry," Yena's not that sorry.

"Centuries ago, before time was even a thing, Empiriah was like a slice of heaven on Earth. It was like the perfect world, everyone and everything lived in harmony, there was no pain or suffering, and everyone lived long, fruitful lives,"

"Why do I feel like there's a but?"

" _However_ ," Chaeyeon grins smugly, and Yena rolls her eyes. "Things eventually turned sour. People grew greedy, people always wanted _more,_ they took without asking, stole without apologising, and the island eventually became divided.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Yena registers that the description suits her perfectly.

"There are those who triumphed, and succeeded in gaining their excess wants, and became rich. And well, then there's all the others, who were left with pretty much nothing. That's where Wonyoung and Yujin came from," she nods over in the pair's direction. "Back then, there were a group of people who possessed the same kind of magic as the island, twelve men and twelve women. See where I'm going with this?"

Yena holds up a hand to stop her. "So you're telling me that these people with the same abilities as us..." she trails off, pressing a hand to her forehead. "No, I'm just confusing myself. Keep talking," she rolls her wrist as a signal for Chaeyeon to continue, to which the girl only laughs.

"So the twelve felt that Empiriah had been disgraced compared to the utter paradise that it had once been, and basically abandoned ship. They wanted to erase any memory that any one had of the island, and just completely fled. They distanced themselves from one another, but they all mutually agreed that they couldn't allow what they stood for to die out," she pokes Yena's shoulder. "And that's when you come in,"

"I'm suddenly much more interested,"

Chaeyeon just keeps talking as if she hadn't heard Yena speak. "They all agreed that in centuries to come, six more boys and six more girls would, like, arise with the same abilities as them," she makes these little movements with her hands that Yena is sure is meant to symbolise the twelve of them arising, but she just ends up looking like she's trying to lift up something that isn't there. Naturally, Yena just starts sniggering.

Chaeyeon feigns offence. "What are you laughing for?" She accuses. "I just bestowed like, the most important information you'll ever hear upon you!"

Yena presses her lips together in a vain attempt at concealing her laughter. "Full offence, but now I'm just mad at whatever dude decided to give me my powers. Guy pretty much destroyed my life,"

And the way Yena says it. It comes out much too melancholy.

Smiles melt from both their faces. And the way Chaeyeon looks at her- _God,_ Yena fucking _loathes_ it.

Chaeyeon is looking at her with pity.

"I'm-"

"Shit, don't," Yena just keeps shaking her head. She stands up, walking in no particular direction. The dress gets in her way - it feels more uncomfortable compared to before. "Just... yeah, don't,"

She hears Chaeyeon stand up. "Yena-"

She's cut off by a knock on the door, sharp and echoing in the otherwise silent room.

Wonyoung and Yujin perk up, looking endearingly excited, gathering themselves to their feet and grinning from ear to ear. "That'll be Hyeongjun!" Yujin exclaims excitedly. She directs her attention towards Yena. "Are you ready?"

Out of habit, there's a _yes_ ready and waiting on the tip of Yena's tongue. But then, she pulls herself back and thinks about it. _Am I ready?_ It's a quarter passed nine, she's running on practically no sleep, and so much has happened in the last twenty four hours that she kind of wants to just clamber into the bed and try her best to nod off to sleep. She briefly wonders if she'd have made as much off that hard drive as she could if she wins this thing.

Amidst everything, she'd almost forgotten that this is the start of a competition. That this is a chance for her to grasp all of her problems and pin them down, wiping them away with the earnings she'd get if she comes out of this victorious. And of course, that slippery, nauseating sense of greed worms it's way inside of her, whispering tantalisingly sweet into her ear that she can be amongst all these powerful people and prove herself to be the best, that she can come out on top without letting anyone cross her path.

It's easy to get drunk on thoughts like those. Yena's never really been able to oppose them.

"Yeah," she responds, tilting her neck from side to side to hear it crack. "I'm ready,"

Wonyoung opens up the door to reveal Hyeongjun standing there with a small, bashful smile on his youthful features. He blinks at Yena, leaving his eyes closed for a beat too long before opening them for a beat too long. "Shit," his words are punctuated by a short breath of laughter. "I was straight for like, point five of a second there,"

Yena scrunches up her nose. "Oh my god, shut up," she says, no real malice to her words. She takes a step forward, before realising that she's not wearing anything on her feet besides her socks. She looks over her shoulder at Chaeyeon. "Do I have shoes?"

"Wait!" Yujin's voice calls from the bathroom. She emerges with that ever growing beam of hers, bounding up to Yena with her sleek sapphire hair falling into perfect place on her shoulders once she halts. She holds up Yena's old, rugged combat boots. "To make you feel more comfortable," she says. "Now you might kinda feel a bit more like you,"

Shit, they're really adorable, her and Wonyoung. She can't help but wonder how they manage to keep such bright smiles on their faces after fleeing their old homes to where they are now.

She makes sure to give Yujin the most sincere smile she can manage, gratefully taking the boots from her and slipping them onto her feet. The hem of the skit covers them for the most part, but even just the familiar feel of them is enough to put her at ease.

"You ready?" Hyeongjun asks, and there's that question again.

So Yena answers honestly, shrugging and stepping outside the door. "Most likely not," she replies without much remorse to her tone. She turns, offering the three of them a small wave. "Thank you so much,"

Wonyoung joins Yujin and Chaeyeon by the door, waving and smiling so brightly that it reaches her eyes. Yena could melt at the sight. "Enjoy! It was lovely meeting you,"

Chaeyeon quirks her lips into a half smile. Yena thinks that she likes her - she comes across as down to earth. She doesn't say anything, just lets her go while trying to convince Yujin to do the same.

Briefly, Yena wonders that if she could turn back time, whether she'd make the decision to step onto that boat or not. 


	11. Paint on a Canvas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it begins.

"I've got a shit feeling about this," Hyeongjun nibbles at a hangnail, tapping his feet in an irregular rhythm on the floor from where he and Yena are sat on armchairs outside the entrance to the arena. He's just as immaculately dressed as she is, wearing a crisp black suit and his curly brown hair ruffled in order to retain his youthful appearance.

And admittedly, Yena agrees with him. It's too strange, too rigid, having eleven of them dance after such a long day, and if nothing happens Yena thinks that it'll just be plain awkward. It's too uneventful - if there were more people she'd understand, but there's only eleven of them now and it's just too out of the ordinary to not be suspicious.

Her and Hyeongjun weren't the first ones there. Chaewon and Minju were there with Seungyeon and Hangyul, none of them seeming all too thrilled to be there. Yena still doesn't know out of the two girls which is which (she seriously needs to follow up on that), but they're both dressed equally as gorgeous. The one with the short hair is wearing a deep, plum coloured dress in a style similar to Yena's, except it comes to her knees instead of her ankles. Her hair is tied back sweetly with a white ribbon, making her dark hair stand out. The one with the longer hair (maybe it's Chaewon? Or fuck, maybe Minju... never mind) is wearing a dress made from silk, pale blue and light and _airy_ and - ah, Yena sees what they stylist did there.

Eunbi arrives soon after, Wooseok (as Hyeongjun helpfully told her) in tow, and Yena purposefully avoids eye contact. Her dress shimmers different shades of blue, the way in which the skirt shifts when she moves reminding Yena of the way waves lap at the shore. Eunbi doesn't look at her either, almost like they've come to a mutual agreement. That flickering flame of aggression writhes in her stomach. Out of all the people here, Eunbi is the one that Yena wants to compete against the most.

"You don't seem to have taken a liking to her," Hyeongjun jokes, nudging her side playfully, and Yena just responds in kind. She's glad that she's got someone that she's at least sort of comfortable with, compared to some of the other pairs who seem to have given up on exchanging words with one another entirely. Everyone just looks fucking exhausted.

"We're natural opposites," she replies blandly. "I think we've both just silently accepted that. It's gonna be a tough fight to see who out of the two of us will come out on the top,"

The clicking of heels echos throughout the entrance, and all heads turn towards the source of the noise. Yena simpers, letting out a soft breath of laughter. "Fuck,"

Yuri emerges from the end of the corridor, and Yena swears that time stops. Yuri is wearing gold, a long, gold dress that glimmers in the low light, highlighting the warmer tones of her skin and almost making her glow. The dress almost appears to be molten, clinging to her torso and then the skirt dripping from her waist, the irregular hem giving off the impression that she's been doused in melted gold.

All eyes turn to her, for a moment, and everyone stills. She offers a bashful smile, cheeks flushing, looking down at her feet, and Yena curses under her breath again.

She doesn't even notice that Dongpyo is with her.

There's ten of them here now, five pairs. Yena counts then just to be sure. She only bothers counting because her heart is racing wildly in her chest and she's desperate for a way to tame it whilst coming off as casual.

Fucking- _shit,_ how does she look so beautiful?

Yena steals a glance at her out of the corner of her eye, no more than two milliseconds, and she sees Yuri staring at her with a knowing look, darkly glossed lips curled upwards with bemusement.

Yena clenches her fist. Checks the time. It's half nine. They should be starting any minute now.

Hyewon isn't here.

The entrance to the arena opens up, the door being pushed just slightly ajar, catching everyone's attention. Sakura's head pops around from the other side in a cat like fashion, eyes darting like usual, and she smiles at them sweetly despite someone letting out a not-so-subtle sigh. Most likely Eunbi. She steps out of the arena, smoothly shutting the door behind her. She's dressed in that same pale pink shade that she seems to have taken a liking to, wearing a skirt that reaches her knees at the front, and to her ankles at the back. Small, thin pink ribbons are entwined into her hair, the same colour as the shimmering powder on her eyelids, as the colour to her lips. Her posture is immaculate as she brushes down dust particles that aren't there off her dress, elegant and, for lack of a better term, she's just really fucking _pretty_.

She smiles at them like she's known them for years, clasping her hands together and wringing them in front of her. "Don't you all just look stunning?" she sighs dreamily. "How are we, excited?"

Eunbi places a hand on her hip, expression completely unimpressed. "What the fuck are we here for?"

Eunbi's harsh tone just goes completely over Sakura's head, and if it doesn't then she does a pretty good job at hiding it. "You're here to dance, silly," she replies with a giggle, a delicate hand coming up to half cover her mouth. "Once you step inside, before your dance commences, you'll have your picture taken. Don't worry, it's not going anywhere, just for tournament schedules once they start coming out. So do us a favour and smile?" she gestures to her own lips, stretched into that perfect beam that sits flawlessly on her face.

Yena resists the urge to laugh, shaking her head. If Sakura thinks that any of them can recreate such an expression, she's got another thing coming.

Well, maybe Yuri can.

Wait-

 _Fuck_.

Yena's been staring. And Yuri is fully aware of it. She can tell by the smug expression on her face.

Sakura ushers them all to their feet, organising them all into their respective pairs, all with that same ridiculously attractive simper in between her blush-heavy cheeks. They stand in front of the door, arm in arm with whoever they're with, and Yena and Hyeongjun laugh together because of how it looks. "Now, who's the girl who couldn't manage to get a partner?" Sakura stands on her toes to scan the small crowd. "Ah, Hyewon,"

Yena frowns to herself, turning to look over her shoulder. Kang Hyewon is standing behind the group, a little off to the side, dressed just as well as the rest of them in a black satin dress, kohl smudged on her eyelids and her lips stained wine. Her expression is completely poker straight, and when she meets Yena's gaze, she keeps that same look, however she raises a brow. Almost like a challenge.

Then, her gaze is redirected away from Yena and over to Sakura, leaving Yena to poke at the inside of her cheek with her tongue in annoyance. "You heard the rules, Hyewon," Sakura chides. A cheerful expression decorates her face, corners of her eyes crinkling charmingly. "No partner, no dance,"

Hyewon doesn't seem too bothered. Her facial features shift from completely unreadable to something a bit more lax, almost pleased. The more Yena looks at her, the more confused and the more jumbled her thoughts become. She's beautiful in a haunting sort of way, is the word Yena would use to describe her, she's got large eyes like Sakura that just seem to absorb the information out of everything she sets her gaze on. She melts in with the blackness of the hallway; dark dress, dark hair, dark makeup. She comes across like she's proud that she's the only one without a partner, though that's just a wild guess.

Shit, Yena can't read her at all. When she tries again, Hyewon's face has just fallen blank like a fresh canvas. And, like art that's painted on a canvas, Yena finds Hyewon nice to look at, yet ragingly difficult to understand. One thing can mean many other things, and so forth.

They're all ushered inside the arena, Sakura closing the door behind them and remaining behind with Hyewon, which draws suspicions into Yena's gut. She isn't left with a lot of time to dwell on it, however, because before she knows it, the loud sound of a camera shutter is invading her ears, a flash causing her to squint. To the left of the entrance, there's a mini photoshoot area set up; a white backdrop large enough for one person, a professional camera with a man stood behind it, and two large studio lights. Wooseok had been hastily shoved onto the small set, a bewildered look on his face when the camera shutter goes off so fast. The photographer steps away from the camera, looking annoyed, waving a hand around in a piqued fashion. "No no _no_!" He exclaims, rather squeaky. He's short in stature, with a mull moustache covering his upper lip. "You're about to partake in a _tournament!_ You're burning with _passion,_ pumped with the _adrenaline_ of competition _,_ your gaze should be over _flowing_ with desire!"

Somewhere amongst the small crowd, Yena hears Yuri snigger softly to herself. She doesn't know why the fuck she finds it attractive, but she's kind of stopped questioning herself at this stage.

The photographer hustles them along quickly, whining and bitching about each of them for not being able to keep their expressions in check. Except for the one out of Chaewon and Minju that has the long hair - the photographer sang his praises about her, claiming that he's never seen such an aesthetically pleasing face since Miyawaki Sakura first walked into the building. While short hair looks like she very much agrees, long hair flushes a pretty shade of rose, murmuring sweet denials as she tucks her hair behind her ear. Yena herself manages to pass through without too much hastle (she's been told before she has a resting bitch face, and for once it's actually aiding her), and after not too long they've all made it through. The photographer packs away all his shit at the speed of light, grumbling about them underneath his breath as if they can't hear him, dismantling and unplugging all of the equipment before scurrying out the door.

"Looks like you've all made it in one piece,"

Yena sees Yuri flinch out of the corner of her eye, taking her own opportunity to snigger, to which she's given a death glare for but she doesn't particularly mind. Yeongsik is sat on his opulently obnoxious seat, when he entered the room Yena has no idea, but he's sat there now and peering down at them like they're a group of worms he's just found beneath a flowerpot. "Please," he gestures to the floor of the arena, inviting them to stand there.

Hesitantly, the group all share weary glances with one another, before slowly making their way down from the spectator's area and onto the arena's floor. Like earlier, the moonlight shines through the irregular glass plating of the ceiling, casting wisps of silver throughout the area. Some sit on Yena's skin, and she takes to looking at them on her arms, catching them before they hit the ground.

"Are we really here to only dance?"

Yena's surprised to hear that it's Yuri who had spoken up, all eyes turned k her for shattering the silence. She pays everyone else no mind, looking up at Yeongsik expectantly, waiting on an answer.

Yeongsik doesn't seem all too phased by the interrogating question. "Have I lied to you thus far?"

"This is only our second conversation,"

"Well then I can tell you now that yes, we're only here to dance. To relax. To celebrate," he grins wickedly at her, and an uneasy feeling settled somewhere in the back of Yena's throat. Yeongsik leans forward, like he's taking delight in the way the worms squirm uncomfortably beneath the flowerpot, like he's figuring which one he's going to pick up between his fingertips. "We should begin without delay, wouldn't you all agree?"

They awkwardly scatter themselves across the arena floor in their pairs, no one seeming all too motivated or excited to be doing so. Yena and Hyeongjun stand together near the entrance.

From another set of doors near the back, two more geishas gracefully enter, rosy cheeked and red lipped and short in stature. Height is almost a reoccurring theme with the people Yeongsik surrounds himself with, Yena notices. He's a short man, Yeongsik is, and his close staff and the ones that tend to him are always short. His seat is placed high, so he can peer down his nose at everyone, and it's obviously a blatant weakness in Yena's eyes that Yeongsik's short height is something he sees as a disadvantage.

The first geisha carries a ridiculously large bottle, engraved intricately with a gold band around the lid, golden brown liquid sloshing around in the inside. The other simply carries a small glass, and they almost seem to glide across the floor as they make their way over to Yeongsik. They bow, before the glass is handed to him. He nods, and the one holding the bottle takes off the lid, before carefully pouring him a glass. Yeongsik holds up the glass to eye level, like he's examining it, before raising it above his head as a toast. "To your health and fortune, contestants,"

Yena resists the strong urge to scoff.

Without much warning, music fills the large space, from speakers that are attached to the walls that Yena didn't notice before, and most of them give a start at the sudden loud music. It's classical music, something heavy with string and wood instruments, and Hyeongjun steps closer to her, carefully taking a hold of one of Yena's right hand with one hand, and letting the other come to rest on her waist.. Yena looks at him incredulously. "What the fuck are you-"

"It's called dancing," Hyeongjun tsks. "Put your other hand on my shoulder,"

"I'm not putting-"

"Oh my god just fucking do it,"

It's just as painfully, ridiculously awkward as Yena had anticipated it to be, both of them trying their best to step in time with the music while others do the same. It's not as simple as it's made out to be in the movies; her and Hyeongjun are constantly moving in different directions, and Yena keeps stepping on her skirt and cursing under her breath while Hyeongjun laughs at her.

"I never asked how old you are," Hyeongjun's close enough to her that Yena can hear him over the violins and piano. They've fallen into a sort-of rhythm at this stage, although there are certainly still times when one of them messes up. It's mostly Yena, but she's not quite ready to admit that yet.

"I'm twenty," Yena responds, and Hyeongjun's mouth drops open.

"What the fuck, you're so _old,"_

"I will literally burn your face off you fucking-"

"No no, not like that! Well, kind of like that, but you know-"

"The more you talk, the worse you're starting to sound," Yena gives his shoulder a light, playful nudge. "How about you then?"

Hyeongjun grins cheekily. "Guess," he says, looking much too pleased with himself.

Yena gives him a bored look. "Honestly? You look twelve,"

Hyeongjun's grip on her waist tightens as Yena nearly causes them to crash into another pair. "Ok first of all, fuck you,"

Yena laughs. "No no, ok, seriously? Maybe like fifteen, sixteen,"

Hyeongjun juts out his bottom lip, eyes downturning like a lost puppy. "Really?"

Yena arches a brow. "Why, are you older?"

"I'm seventeen," Hyeongjun huffs out. "People always say I look younger,"

Yena shrugs, which messes up their already lacking rhythm, but Hyeongjun manages to steer them back on course. "I'm shit at guessing ages anyway," she pauses, thinking to herself. "Actually, you know what? You called me old, I have absolutely no sympathy for you,"

"Ok I didn't mean old as in _old_ old-"

"Excuses, excuses,"

"I just thought you were still a teen-" Hyeongjun cuts himself off, looking over Yena's shoulder. "I think- god, what's her name again? Yuri?"

Yena frowns.

"I think Yuri's trying to get your attention,"

"What?" Yena turns to look over her shoulder to see Yuri and Dongpyo dancing close to them, Yuri gazing at her with intensity in her gaze. Yena arches an eyebrow in a silent question, and she sees the other girl huff in frustration.

Before Yena knows what to say, Yuri is reaching out and closing her grip around her elbow, tugging her away from Hyeongjun and across the dance floor. "Bathroom break!" She yells across the room at Yeongsik over the sounds of Yena's protests, not really waiting for a response as she drags Yena across the room and out the door.

"What the fuck are you doing? Go to the bathroom on your own," Yena grumbles as Yuri only keeps on briskly walking ahead of her, her hand having slipped from Yena's elbow to curl into her palm and the thought makes Yena heat up a little. Yuri doesn't respond, only keeps walking down the corridor before pushing open the door to the bathroom. She shoves Yena inside, and for a brief second Yena's mind freezes.

Yuri shuts the door behind them, locking it.

The bathroom is made for one person, so it's small and cramped and they're both in each other's personal space. Yuri is taller than her now, so Yena assumes she's wearing heels. They stare at each other for a few moments, the silence brittle like a thin sheet of ice.

Then, Yuri sighs, humourless smile playing on her lips. "If you think I've brought you here to make out with you then you're either seriously full of yourself or you've got the mind of a fourteen year old,"

Yena splutters at the accusation, scoffing and looking away, not having too much trouble at acting offended. "Why the fuck would I-"

"Oh, as if, I see how you look at me," Yuri waves her off. "Keep your hormones in check around me for like, a second please? This is serious,"

"And I'm the one that's full of myself?"

"Just- oh my god, _please_ tell me that you don't think that tonight is just a dance," Yuri places her hands on Yena's shoulders to get her to look her in the eye.

Yena tenses at the sudden contact, going silent for a moment. Slowly, Yuri takes her hands off of Yena's shoulders, looking down. Yena manages to shake her head. "I mean, I don't think so?" She responds, not all too sure of herself.

"Ok. Ok, ok," Yuri nods to herself, looking like her mind is racing a mile a minute. "Do you have the card Sakura gave you with you?"

"Why the fuck would I-"

"Christ, I know your automatic reaction to anything is just to go into smartass mode, but can you just work with me here for five minutes?"

"Fine, _no,_ I don't,"

Letting out a huff, Yuri rolls her eyes, before reaching down the bodice of her dress, then retracting her hand to reveal the sleek, black card pinched in between her fingers. When she looks back up to see Yena staring, she rolls her eyes. "As if you've never hidden shit in your bra either,"

Yena points a finger at her. "Touché,"

That gauges a smile out of Yuri, who shakes her head, her warm brown hair fanning out across her shoulders. "You're completely bizarre,"

"You like it,"

"Not yet," Yuri's grin turns a little more sultry, before she looks back down at the card. She hands it out for Yena to take. "Hold it up against the window," when she sees Yena beginning to open her mouth, she beats her to it. "And don't ask why. Just do it,"

So, simply because Jo Yuri told her, Yena finds herself stood on the toilet seat of this bathroom to try and reach the small window that shines a small stream of moonlight into the room. She just about manages, having to reach and stand on her toes, but she's just able to place the card against the smooth, cool glass with the tips of her fingers.

And then- shit, Yena will never second guess Yuri ever again.

On the opposite wall to where the window is, there's a mirror above a sink. In the mirror's reflection, there's something there that isn't there in real life. Yena squints. "What...?" She keeps the card propped up against the glass, stepping back down onto the tiled floor and walking over to the mirror. In the reflection, the card no longer contains Sakura's signature.

"Dongpyo had his suspicions, he told me before we arrived. Said he had a feeling," Yuri explains. "He couldn't figure it out though,"

Yena turns around, and behind her, the card looks the exact same as usual, Sakura's signature and all. However, when she looks at it in the mirror again, it's been replaced by small, white text.

_Task 1:_  
_At the highest point,_  
_Awaits a reward,_  
_Last to read this,_  
_Is on the first ship home._

Yena reads the words over and over again. "The tournament..."

Yuri nods resolutely. "It's already begun," 


	12. Blurred by Neon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena thinks Yuri looks good in neon lights.

"You're fucking with me. Like you can't actually be considering that,"

" _At the highest point awaits a reward,"_ Yuri recites from the card. "There's literally nowhere else it could be,"

Yena scrunches up her face, clearly more than displeased. When she said she'd never second guess Yuri ever again - yeah that was a lie. "Maybe it's metaphorical?"

"Yena, this is a _tournament._ Everything is going to be physical,"

They're stood outside, the summer night mild, _still_ in those dresses they'd been put in (while Yena's body might not appreciate it because of how limited her movements are, her eyes certainly do - Yuri is stunning), stood at the end of the street, and Yena can't quite believe what she's hearing.

Because, at the other end of the street, amongst others, is a skyscraper. One that Yuri has identified as the tallest in the city, and is for some bizarre reason trying to convince Yena that the very top of the skyscraper is _the highest point_ that the card had mentioned.

They'd been let out of Empire by the guards once they'd shown them their evidence, neither of them failing to notice that Hyewon, too, was nowhere in sight outside of the arena's entrance.

"Yeah, but like..." Yena clicks her tongue, giving her head a jolt to the side in consideration. "Shouldn't we be a hundred per cent sure before we start, you know, climbing a fucking skyscraper?"

Yuri nods, grinning, taking a hold of Yena's elbow and beginning to drag her down the street. The neon colours of the city look quite good on her actually - her skin staining rose and sapphire, strands of equally as saturated colours entwining themselves into her hair, highlighting the high points of her features and softening, blurring her outline. "You're right," she agrees brightly. "Let's go ask and see,"

_You shouldn't trust people just because they're pretty, you know._

_It's reverse psychology_ , Yena thinks. _I'm the one who's gaining her trust._

"Why did you bother telling me anyway?" Yena asks as they near the skyscraper. "About Sakura's card I mean,"

Yuri looks at her with a childish expression over her shoulder, lips drawn together slightly into a pout, eyes wide and seeking. "Because you wouldn't have figured it out otherwise," When Yena gasps in offence, Yuri laughs. Yena tries not to pay too much attention to the sound. "I don't know, to be honest. I guess... I guess I didn't want to do it alone, I suppose. And I haven't really talked to anyone else other than you, so," she clears her throat a little awkwardly, like she hadn't really thought before saying that. Not that Yena particularly minds, Yuri not having really spoken to anyone but her. A small little part of herself is pleased, even.

Yuri shakes her head, looking away from Yena and dead in front of her again. "Besides, if it weren't for me, you would still be in there floundering about,"

Yena rolls her eyes at her, yet she finds herself smiling.

They arrive in front of the skyscraper, towering so high above them that Yena has to arch her back in order to see the very top of it. It's made almost entirely of glass, each panel reflecting the heady, glowing lights, almost giving off the illusion that the building has been carved from precious metals. The entrance is a rotating door, and Yena has a small, internal moment of panic. Before, she would've just walked through, no questions asked, and be on her way.

But Yuri, she finds, is making her second guess herself. Making her ask stupid questions like _do I step into the same segment as her or not?_

God, it's so fucking stupid. She could laugh at herself.

 _You're gaining her trust_ , she reminds herself. _You need to appeal to her._

So Yena steps into the same segment of the revolving door as Yuri, even though it's a bit of a squeeze. They're pressed close together, as a result, and Yuri looks at her with a slightly taken aback expression. Yena gives her a sort of lazy smile. "Hiya,"

Yuri only blinks at her, reigning in her expression and giving Yena a quick once-over. "You," she says, pushing the door around whilst poking Yena in the chest. "Are shit at flirting,"

Yena arches a brow. "Oh?"

Yena grins, walking out of the revolving door. "You're gonna have to try a little harder than that, hotshot," she teases, and Yena only clicks her tongue, jogging to catch up with her.

The reception is dark, quiet, the only thing providing them any sort of vision being the strip of blue light that lines the empty reception desk. Their footsteps echo eerily off the walls, the swishing of their skirts amplified, and Yena feels the urge to remain silent so she doesn't shatter the lack of noise. "Do we just keep going, or...?" She trails off when she notices that Yuri isn't really paying much attention to her, the other girl seeming far more interested in the reception desk.

Yuri reaches the desk, slowly peeling something off of its surface. It's a piece of paper, which she squints at. "I forgot my glasses again, fuck this," she huffs out, shoving the paper into Yena's hands. "You read it,"

Yena doesn't say anything, lets her complacent expression speak for itself as she takes the paper. She scans it once, twice, and something nasty bubbles inside of her.

_i'm one step ahead :)_  
_~ k.h.w_

Yena reads it aloud, and then locks eyes with Yuri again. "It's Hyewon, isn't it?"

Yuri sighs. "Her surname is Kang, so it's highly likely," she gives a shudder. "That girl creeps me out, sorry. But hey, at least we know we're headed in the right direction now,"

Yena nods, sticking the piece of paper back onto the desk. "There's gotta be a lift or something that we can take,"

Yuri walks over to one of the doors, giving her an incredulous look over her shoulder. "So I don't get any credit for being right?" She coaxes, and rightfully so Yena supposes, but it's no fun to just let her.

"I don't know what you mean," Yena deadpans. "I never contradicted you,"

She doesn't get to see Yuri's reaction because the girl has her back to her trying to open the door. She gives a few hard tugs, but the thing doesn't budge. "Try one of the others?" She calls out, moving to the left and attempting to open a different door.

Yena looks around, and there really isn't that many to pick from. She moves towards the nearest one, and sure enough, it's locked. Her eyes float to the door next to the reception desk, which is labelled with the word _STAIRS_ in bold block capitals. Yena's heart sinks, because if any of these doors is going to open, knowing her luck, it's going to be this one. Gingerly, she walks towards it and reaches it, pushing down on the handle and hearing it click. She manages to open it slightly, and she huffs out a sigh. "Yuri, it's this one,"

"You found it?" Yuri turns around, looking relieved, but her face drops once she sees the sign. "You're fucking kidding me,"

Yena smiles a little bitterly. "I suppose taking the lift would be a bit on the easy side,"

Once Yuri is by her side again, Yena pushes the door open, slowly, tentatively stepping through the doorframe with Yuri close behind her. Past the door, and right in front of them is a staircase, that as far as Yena can see, coils upwards. Shutting the door behind them both, Yena walks over to the base of the staircase, and looks upwards.

She swallows. "Shit..." she can't even see the top where the staircase ends. The area is dark, dimly lit, and Yena wonders if climbing up this many stairs is just a simple torture method for them to endure.

"Em... Yena," Yuri's voice catches her attention, and Yena turns away from the staircase to look at her. Yuri is pointing to a table, on the left of her from when she stepped through the door, and Yena had missed it entirely. It's a coffee table, only coming up to Yena's shins, and placed in neat rows on top of it are ten shot glasses. There's a note written on black paper, stuck to the table, in loopy white font, instantly reminding Yena of Sakura, reading _drink me_ in neat cursive.

Yena and Yuri exchange weary looks. "What do you think it is?" Yuri's voice has dropped, quieter and almost breathy. On edge.

Gingerly, Yena crouches down onto her honkers, not really caring at this stage that it's probably fucking up the expensive fabric of her dress, and picks up one of the glasses. The liquid sloshes around inside the glass, silvery in colour, shimmering softly in the low light. Bringing it just beneath her nose, she smells it, and freezes up.

"Yena...?" She doesn't register Yuri's voice calling out to her. "What's wrong?"

The drink. It smells like cigarettes, smoked firewood. It smells like dirty money and the coppery tang of blood.

Yena swallows thickly, standing up. She hands the drink over to Yuri, who looks at her with traces of concern. "What does it smell like? To you?"

Frowning, Yuri takes the drink off of her, placing the rim of the glass beneath her nose and taking a careful sniff. Instantly, her face lights up, and she lets out a hum of delight. "Oh my god," she groans. "That is so good," she leans back in again, inhaling the scent. "Smells like... like fresh paint, and... warm pastries and ice cream," her face is so bright, when she turns to Yena. "Do you think it's supposed to smell like what makes you happy?"

Yena freezes.

No.

No, that can't be right. Those things don't make her happy.

And then when she tries to think about what does...

Fucking _shit._

"Yeah," there's a bitter taste on Yena's tongue, her nostrils burning. "Yeah, I think it is,"

"What do you smell?" Yuri asks, handing the glass back over with a sort of dazed, dreamy smile.

Yena takes it, and sniffs again, hoping that last time, for some bizarre reason, was just a fluke. But when she does, she can smell blistered skin and cheap wine and that same metallic tang. Scents she's subconsciously come to associate with _power._ "I smell... roses," she lies. "Roses and honey,"

Yuri doesn't look like she's completely present, Yena doesn't really know how to describe it.. "And do roses and honey make you happy?" She asks, and her words linger in the air for too long, it's too quiet between them, and Yena's hold on the glass tightens.

"Yeah," she responds. "Yeah, they do,"

Her words hang in the air for a moment, smeared like a pale fog, Yuri seeming oblivious to it all. The girl picks up another glass, instantly smelling it and sighing pleasurably, almost sensuous. "Fuck," she curses with a groan, before giggling childishly. "D'you think we drink it?"

"I mean, it says we do, but... I don't know, Yuri," Yena tilts her head, clearly distrusting. She moves to put her glass down, but Yuri catches her wrist before she can.

"Fuck, Yena, _please_ ," she whines, her usually low toned voice having gone that bit higher now, heady with want and desperation and if Yena were to hear her say something like that with that sort of tone under any other circumstance she doesn't even want to think about what she'd do. Not now. "Please, it's just a _drink,_ what's the worst it could do?"

 _Literally anything. Absolutely fucking anything_ is the reply that Yena has ready and waiting on the tip of her tongue, but she knows what she says will simply fall on deaf ears. Yuri, to put it lightly, is quite clearly fucking out of it because of the smell of the drink, and even though Yena doesn't want to, she's got a feeling that they have to drink. There's only ten glasses after all, meaning that one has already been drank by Hyewon.

Yena curses. "Fuck, fine," she grits her teeth, bringing the glass parallel to her lips. She can smell fresh gunpowder now, the scent that permeates the air after a trigger's been pulled. "On three?"

Yuri nods, fast.

"One, two-"

Yuri's already knocked back the drink, Yena seeing the way her throat bobs when she swallows. She lets out a defeated sigh, murmuring a halfhearted "three," to herself before grimacing and downing all the liquid in the glass in one gulp.

Next to her, Yuri whines blissfully again, while Yena grinds her teeth. The drink burns her throat raw in the way a strong whiskey would, and she coughs into her sleeve loudly. It tastes like how it smells, except it's like a hundred times stronger, tasting like there's a gun being pulled on her tongue in the midst of a raging fire.

And... and Yena can feel the _fire_ too.

She shakes her head. What?

Yena's eyes go wide, stumbling backwards. Out of nowhere, a blaze bursts out in the corner of the room.

Yena lets out an involuntary cry, dropping the glass to the ground. Hubdreds of sharp, glimmering glass fractals of crystal explode like a bomb, and Yena's so off guard that she doesn't even register the pricks of blood that are drawn from her veins when the sharp fragments embed themselves into her skin through the skirt of her dress. The fire doesn't cease, when she wills it to shrink, and panic consumes her within moments. She continuously tries, over and over, but it only grows larger, licking up the walls with a hunger to consume. Her thoughts instantly shift to Yuri, to get her out, to get her somewhere safe.

Somewhere away from where Yena is.

Cursing loudly and shaking, she bolts towards the door, pushing down on the handle and tugging, but the thing won't budge. "Fuck!" She screams over the sounds of the fire's crackling accusations and taunts, tugging on the roots of her hair as a desperate attempt to try and calm herself. Her lungs have grown too tight, she- fuck, she can't fucking breathe.

She turns back around, expecting to see Yuri in a state of panic similar to hers, to see her screaming for help and choking on the plumes of smoke that have begun to consume the room.

But that isn't what she sees at all.

Yuri is stood on the spot, her back to Yena, looking around absentmindedly like she'd spotted a bird in a tree somewhere. She doesn't seem to be aware of the fire at all, only standing still as the room becomes sticky with the heat.

"Yuri!" Yena yells over the noise, the noise that only seems to grow louder by the second, getting really irremediable at this stage. "Yuri, _please,_ lets go!"

It's like Yuri can't even hear her.

The girl casually walks over in the direction of the table, the way someone would walk out to put something in the bin. Yena's shattered glass crunches beneath her feet, however she pays it no mind as she crouches to set it back on the table. She straightens her back, slowly. "Yena..?"

The way Yuri says her name sends a punch right into Yena's gut. Her tone is hesitant, shaky, and so unsure of herself that it physically pains Yena to hear her speak like that.

"Yeah, fuck, just hurry the fuck up I can't-"

"Yena?" Yuri just cuts across her like she hadn't been speaking. Yena is frozen on the spot, staring, so many emotions and thoughts and fears racing circles in her mind that she can barely figure out what to do.

_Fears._

When Yena can do none other than scream out Yuri's name again, it dawns in her that it's not just _like_ Yuri can't even hear her. It's that it's actually the case.

"Fuck, _please,_ no no _no_ , fuck, _Yena_! You can't fucking leave me!"

Yuri doesn't think Yena is there. 


	13. I Win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena faces her fear.

It's like Yena is frozen in time, horrified, as Yuri wanders aimlessly around the small area, pleads and cries for help ripping raw from her throat, blind to everything that's around her. Everytime Yuri draws too close to the raging flames that are closing in on them, nothing but a surge of panic and fear is pumped into Yena's veins. Each time she tries to reach out to Yuri, to ensure her that she's safe and everything will be ok... Yena can't move. She's glued to the spot with terror and trepidation. Yena thinks that there's really no words to describe the emotions you feel as you watch someone right in front of you call out your name with throat-ripping cries. As roaring flames size them up the way a snake would before devouring its prey.

It dawns on Yena, then, amidst her panic-ridden haze, that the drink must be some sort of hallucination-inducing drug. As much as she wants to believe her eyes, no matter how large or terrifying the fire seems, no matter how close Yuri gets to it, it has yet to harm her. And- and Yena _knows_ that she has control over fire in the same way she has over her own body, there's no way she shouldn't be able to bend it to her will. But the way the smoke burns at her lungs and the heat scorches her eyeballs in ways they wouldn't normally be able to doesn't make it any easier to convince herself.

 _The drink must focus on your fears_ , she thinks to herself disdainfully, watching as Yuri stumbles around, gripping at the roots of her hair as she doubles over.

She looks up at the spiralling staircase, and her heart practically weeps at the sight. The stairs wind so high that she couldn't even see the top before, even less so now with thick, billowing smoke blocking her vision. Regardless, she's recognised at this stage that this is the first task of the tournament, of _Empire_ , and that if she were to take a wild guess, all it takes to complete the task is to make it to the top.

Easier said than done.

Her gaze falls onto Yuri again, and she presses her lips together, trying her best to block out her strangled screams and pleads for help, for her not to be left alone. That seems to be a recurring theme here, Yena's noticed, Yuri being left on her own. She mumbles under her breath at times, sometimes completely incoherent, but Yena picks up things like _promise I won't let you down_ , and _I can't go another night_ , and _please, that's all I have, please don't take them away_ , along with the occasional heart wrenching cry of Yena's name that makes Yena want to cry with her. Because Yuri is crying now, uncontrollably so, tears dribbling pathetically down to her chin, her voice hoarse and ripped raw, sniffs and gasps punctuating her words.

Cursing under her breath, Yena walks towards her, reaching out and grasping onto her elbow. Yuri doesn't respond, just continues to cry and whimper like a lost puppy that'd been kicked to the curb. Even though she knows Yuri can't hear her, almost as an instinct Yena murmurs words of encouragement to her under her breath, hooking Yuri's arm over her shoulders and aiding her in stumbling along. Yuri is slow, not resistant but definitely not the most cooperative either, yet Yena manages to guide her towards the stairs and make it up the first couple steps.

The fire advances, smothering the first three steps where they'd stood just moments ago, almost taunting Yena, and the fear settles back in again. Even though she knows the fire can't be real, because there's simply just no way, that doesn't make it any easier. It's like... like when you're in a haunted house. Just because you know the ghosts are just holograms and you know the clowns are people dressed up doesn't make it any less horrifying to experience.

Yena continues lugging Yuri up the stairs, the girl's body weight almost resting completely on her now, but Yena only grits her teeth and keeps tugging, keeps urging Yuri with words of encouragement she can't hear.

They slowly make their way up the stairs, taking at least double the time that it would take them if they were both sane and in more convenient clothing. It's when they're just before halfway up that Yuri's words begin to get to Yena; there's only so much pleads and cries for help and sobbing and begging that a person can take before their wall of mentality starts to crumble. The heat still licks at Yena's skin, _burning_ in a way she's never felt before, and it's all that paired with the weight of Yuri pressing into her side, the girl's hysterical screeching, that just makes Yena want to sit down and give up. Sit down until the fire blisters her skin until it pops, until Yuri rips her own throat raw. Tears begin to gather in her own ducts, because everything fucking _hurts_ , it hurts and _shit_ , she's so fucking exhausted that she just wants to close her eyes and go to sleep.

"Don't wanna, nuh- not gonna be alone," Yuri mumbles to herself quietly, shaking her head insistently, sniffling and snivelling and stumbling all over. "No, you can't, you can't take them," her voice rises in volume. "You can't fucking take them from me!" she's screaming now. "Yena!" she's screaming so loud that it must be fucking killing the flesh of her throat, and Yena's sure that if Yuri were in any right state of mind that she'd be on the floor with the pain. Now, she only grapples with her own throat with her free hand, itching and scratching at the skin with her nails.

"Hey, hey," Yena tries her best to keep her voice steady, but it wavers. She forces back a sob, even though she chokes on it when it lodges itself inside her throat. She tries to gently pry Yuri's hand away from her neck, even though her own quivers, and as soon as she touches her, Yuri starts to freak out.

"No!" she bites out viciously, slapping Yena's hand away, the sound of flesh hitting flesh resounding over the noise of the crackling flames. "No, you can't take them from me, they're all I've got!" Yuri screams at no one in particular, eyes glassy like a doll's.

Yena's lower lip quivers, and she looks at Yuri imploringly as the other girl's hand goes back to her own neck, scraping severely until the skin flushes red. "Yuh... Yuri, please," she manages, able to taste the smoke on her tongue. "Stop, you- you're hurting yourself,"

"You- you promised. You promised, didn't you?" Yuri shakes her head furiously, gripping at her neck now instead of scratching at it. Yena can see her squeezing, the soft flesh of her throat dimpling under the harsh pressure like bread dough. "I'm doing the right thing, I'm good, I'm good," she gasps, her face flushing more. It slowly passes through Yena's mind that she's struggling to breathe. "Not gonna-" an inhumane sound spills past her lips, straggled and choked out like a cat in an alleyway. "Not gonna buh- be alone,"

Yena can't stand the sight. "Yuri, _stop,"_ she insists, reaching out again and tearing her hand away. Yuri reacts how Yena had expected; she tries to wrench her wrist out of Yena's grip, kicking and thrashing and swearing, her teeth snapping and voice breaking with every syllable she screams.

"No! You're _horrible!_ I fucking hate you!" Yuri doesn't stop fighting, no longer needing Yena's support as she lashes out at her. She's fuelled by rage, her eyes blazing with anger, and she's shaking so violently that Yena feels sick to the stomach. "I can't go back, it fucks everything up, I promise!"

But despite how much she tries, Yena is still stronger. As carefully as she can, trying not to bruise, Yena forces Yuri to lie down on her back, which still proves to be a near impossible task. Yuri doesn't stop begging, doesn't stop accusing her of leaving her alone, of taking everything she has, and as Yena pins her to the ground by her wrists she can't help but wonder why this is what Yuri fears. Why she's saying all this. Who she sees instead of Yena.

She can't look at Yuri with anything other than sadness as she brackets the girl's hips with her calves to prevent her from kicking out. Yuri struggles tirelessly, her wrists pinned either side of her head, teeth bared, and she's just... animalistic. Yena looks down at her with pity as Yuri keeps relaying how much she hates her.

And then, all at once, Yuri goes limp. Her eyes clear. Moments after, the fire shrinks in on itself and the smoke dissipates.

It's totally silent.

Both girls are frozen, mouths parted in silent _O_ s, staring at one another. Yena swallows, and slowly loosens her hold on Yuri's wrists. She straightens her back, sitting up straight, and takes in a slow breath.

Yuri's mouth closes, and then she opens it again. A soft, scratchy sound comes out, and she instantly presses her lips together, eyes screwing shut and grimacing with pain.

"Don't," Yena murmurs, standing up. "You screamed a lot for a long time,"

Yuri's eyes flutter open again, and she looks upwards. Judging by her expression, she must be seeing that they've still got endless of flights of stairs to climb, and Yena practically sees her soul slither out of her body. She covers her eyes with a hand for a moment, biting harshly at her lower lip like she's trying to prevent a sob from escaping. Yena sees a glimmer of a tear run a slow track down the side of her face.

She extends her hand out to her. "Hey," she speaks softly.

Yuri uncovers her eyes, and blinks up at Yena for a few moments. Gingerly, she takes her hand, allowing Yena to take her weight and haul her to her feet. Once they're eye to eye, Yena tentatively reaches out, brushing her thumb beneath Yuri's eyes to wipe away her tears. It only causes more to seep slowly out of her ducts. "Thank you," Yuri whispers, so so quiet, along with "I'm really sorry,"

Yena simply shrugs. Even though she knows she didn't, guilt from Yuri thinking that she'd abandoned her still makes her shoulders sag. "You shouldn't speak, you'll hurt yourself more,"

Yuri nods, looking down at her feet.

"We need to keep going, to make it to the top," Yena begins to walk, and it's only then that she realises that she's still holding Yuri's hand.

Freezing over, Yena can only blink as Yuri slowly allows her hand to slip from Yena's grasp. It's such a contrast to before, her haughty, playful personality washed out and replaced by... whatever this is.

Before her fingers slip away from Yena's, Yena grips onto her hand again.

Yuri flinches, shoulders jumping up to her ears, head snapping upwards to look at Yena with bewilderment.

Yena smiles gently. "Don't worry," she gives Yuri's hand a squeeze. "I'll help you,"  
  
  
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  
  
  


They do eventually make it to the top, after so long that Yena hasn't even a rough estimate of how long it had taken them, time seeming to get all jumbled up with the further they climb. She hears faint noises at one point, she thinks, more than likely the others who've figured out Sakura's card too, and if she had the energy or the voice she'd warn them not to drink from those stupid fucking shot glasses. Her heart aches for Hyeongjun, and what he'll see.

They reach a door, after the final revolution, and Yena could cry with happiness if she weren't so exhausted. Her and Yuri push open the door together and instantly are met with harsh gust of wind, biting meanly at their cheeks and rushing around their skirts by their ankles. Yena's hair is pushed back from her face with the force, and in her peripherals, Yuri squints.

They step out into the cold, Yena astounded by the sudden change in climate. It had been mild earrlier, only a breeze carding through her hair, yet now it causes both girls to stumble back a little. Yena knows that it's either Chaewon or Minju that can control air - she wonders if this could be a result of her distress.

"I was wondering how long it would take for someone else to come up here. I was getting lonely,"

Yena's head snaps to her left, where she sees Hyewon standing near the edge of the flat rooftop, dressed in black with her hair floating around her stoic face almost mesmerisingly. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you so soon," she tilts her head in Yuri's direction, and Yena's grip on her hand tightens. "I was right about you though," she turns to face Yena. "Though Eunbi or Wooseok wouldn't have surprised me either," she looks back out at the skyline, the neon colours cutting sharply at her side profile. "You had a chance, you know. Sakura had taken a liking to you. You should've taken advantage of that before someone could swoop in and... steal your prey," she turns back around to face Yena then, at that last part of her sentence, eyes gleaming maliciously.

"It doesn't matter though," Hyewon smiles, and Yena is taken aback by the sudden expression. She smiles brightly and sweetly, eyes pinching together in a way so kind that Yena wants to melt it right off her face. "I win,"


	14. Easy to Die, Easy to Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yuri can't go back.

Hangyul was the last to arrive up the stairs.

Yena feels a small twinge of pity for him, now that they've been escorted back to the Empire building. The two men that had taken Yohan away ushering the rest of them along whilst making him wait outside. She hadn't really known him, hell, she'd never even spoken a word to him, so she can't bring herself to feel much remorse. What had shaken her, however, had been the things she'd seen as more and more people began to come through the door and onto the roof.

Now, Yena's seen some pretty horrific stuff. She's seen the way people get when they're placed under immense amounts of pressure, knows how to get them to babble mindlessly until there's nothing left inside their head. She's seen people die, she's seen them not quite alive but not dead either, rather in an incomprehensible state in between where their eyes have lolled back and their breath is ragged. She's seen people _alive,_ high on the joyride that is life itself, and out of the three she's not too sure which one is the most terrifying. She's seen people bleeding out, she's heard gutteral screams and begging and pleading and heart wrenching sobs, but it's never been _her._ Although she's seen it with her own two eyes, she's never been able to relate to those people. It had been like watching a horror film, uncomfortable and gruesome to witness, yes, but what you're seeing is so inconceivable that it's difficult to put yourself into their shoes.

Standing on the roof was nothing like that.

Standing on the roof had felt like when it had really dawned on Yena how easy it was for people to die. Skin is soft and pliable like a dough, just as easily punctured and ripped apart. Eyes cling to their sockets by mere threads of muscle, mouths bubble and froth when pain gets too much to bare.

It's easy to die, it's easy to kill. It's a jarring realisation that Yena had assumed she'd gotten used to.

On the roof, once everyone has made it to the top, she found herself surprisingly disturbed.

Minju and Chaewon had crumpled to the floor the moment they'd arrived through the door, the one with the shorter hair dazed and her body limp. The other had been shaking her shoulders, sobbing pathetically and mumbling incoherently under her breath, shaking her head before burying it into the other's neck.

Some people emerged the same Yuri and Yena did, shaken yet just about managing. If Yena were to take a guess, she'd assume that the drinks were of different concentrations, meaning that the effects for some lasted longer than others.

Yena wonders what it had been like for Hyewon. What she'd seen, how she coped with it on her own. Everyone else seems to have come up with other people, forming small groups to rely on other people. No one else seems to want to do things on their own.

Hyeongjun's eyes were wide as saucers once he stepped through. He was moving just fine, no stumbling or stuttering, his expression mirroring the one Hyewon always seems to wear. He kept on blinking, over and over, and when he met Yena's gaze he gave her a dazed nod of acknowledgement.

Yuri convinced her to leave him to gather his thoughts on his own, even if it did pain Yena slightly to see him so out of it. It's strange what empathy can do, once you get to know someone. Yena doesn't like it at all.

Now, she's back in her room, nearing midnight, and she's so exhausted that she could cry. But, ever since their talk with Hyewon Yena's been itching for a cigarette, so she fishes her pack out from the pocket of her jeans (which had been folded neatly on her bed. Yena thinks back to Chaeyeon, Wonyoung and Yujin with a smile), and quickly lights one with the tip of her finger. Almost certain she's not allowed to smoke inside, she darts out onto the balcony, the chill of the night blowing softly down her spine. She pays it no mind, however, running swiftly at her shoulders with her hands to conserve heat, pinching the cigarette in between her teeth and inhaling slowly.

"Well, hasn't fate taken a liking to us,"

Yena gives a start, the cigarette falling from between her lips as she lets out a small gasp, just about managing to catch it however snuffing the flame out in the process. Tinkling laughter comes from somewhere to her left, and Yena turns her head to see Jo Yuri standing on the balcony next to hers.

Yena tuts, somehow dragging her eyes away from Yuri's warm smile and back to the cigarette in the palm of her hand. "Of fucking course your balcony is next to mine," she grumbles, but there's no real malice to her words. She sticks her cigarette back in between her teeth, lighting it back up again with her finger.

"You're jumpy," Yuri states it like it's a fact. "Sorry about your smoke," in her peripherals, Yena can see that Yuri's walked to the edge of her own balcony, the edge closest to Yena's and has leaned over the edge of it, crossing her arms and putting her weight on them.

Yena gives her a once over, and doesn't immediately respond. Despite everything that happened earlier, she seems to be holding up well. Or perhaps that's what she wants Yena to think. "How're you holding up?"

Yuri's expression falls, before she sets her lips into a straight line. "I barely remember any of it," she admits. "It's just left me with this horrible feeling and I really hate it. I'm sorry again, for slowing you down," she gives a quirk of her lips, and it's kind of dead looking. "But I'm managing. You?"

Yena shrugs. "I was shaken, yeah, but I think you had it a little worse than me," she pauses. "I'm... suspicious,"

Yuri arches a brow, standing up straight again. "Of?"

Yena puffs out a breath of smoke. It curls into the air, the breeze collecting it in its arms and carrying it in the direction that Yuri isn't. She keeps the cigarette pinched between her middle and pointer finger. "This. Empire. This entire fucking thing. It's just... I don't know, something's just off about it,"

"Why do you think that?"

Yena tilts her head to the side in consideration, before gesturing out at the edge of the city. In view, a fair distance away, is the dock where they'd arrived on the island for the very first time. It's completely empty, and if Yena hadn't been there today she would've deemed it out of use. "The dock," she says. "There's no ships in sight,"

Yuri doesn't seem to be catching on. She gives Yena a blank look. "So..."

"So, that card said that whoever was last was gonna be shipped home. That dock has been completely empty all day, and Hangyul and Yohan are both meant to be gone by now," she explains, and the realisation dawns in Yuri's face.

"You think... like, they're still here? They're being kept here?" She leans back on the railing again. 

Yena shrugs. "I don't know, but... I don't know, nothing here sits right with me,"

Yuri lets out a short puff of breath. "Shit," she says, impressed. "You're smart. I never would've thought of something like that,"

Yena scoffs. "And you say I'm a shit flirter. That phrase is so overused,"

Yuri's gaze darkens at that, eyes becoming hooded. She inhales, breathy, before speaking again. "And who says I was flirting with you?"

Yena keeps an indifferent exterior, despite the fact that her insides have begun to whirr madly like a machine. She carelessly taps the ash off the end of the cigarette, watching it fall until she can't see it anymore. "No one. That's how obvious it is,"

She turns to look at Yuri then, who's digging her teeth into her lower lip, grinning like a child who'd just been offered dessert. "Well if I'm so obvious then maybe you should do something about it,"

Yena lets out a breath of laughter. "Nice try," she admits, stunning out her cigarette. "But I barely know anything about you, and vice versa. Like I don't even know your age, you've gotta be what, fifteen, sixteen?" She grins, knowing she's pushing things, but it gauges a reaction out of Yuri nonetheless.

"Bitch," Yuri mutters with a glare, making Yena laugh. "I'll have you know that I'm an adult. Eighteen," she raises her chin. "You've gotta be what, twenty six, twenty seven?"

Yena makes a face. "Get your own jokes,"

"Make me,"

Yena rolls her eyes. "I don't know how you have the energy for this,"

"Honestly, me neither," Yuri yawns, stretching out her arms. "I think I'm gonna sleep. You should too,"

Yena offers a grunt as a reply.

Yuri opens the sliding door that leads back into her room. "Thank you again. For like, you know,"

"Yeah yeah," Yena waves her off. "Don't worry about it,"

Yuri smiles at her, then, not one of those flirtatious smiles but a genuine one. Yena decides that she likes this one the best. "Ok," she hesitates, then, "Goodnight, Yena,"

"Mmh,"

"Oh my god, you have to say it back at least,"

"Night,"

 _"What_ night?"

"You fucking- _goodnight Yuri,"_

Yuri grins, pleased. "Goodnight, Yena,"

Yena notices long after Yuri's gone that she's still smiling to herself like a fucking schoolgirl. She shakes her head to herself, before stepping back inside her room once more.   
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  


Yuri shuts the large sliding door behind her, a small smile tugging on her lips that she doesn't even bother to suppress. Giddy in a way that a child would be, she curls her toes into the softness of the carpet as she walks over to the bed, humming to herself.

Yena had been right, Yuri is tired, and after today she hopes that after everything they'd been through today that the other girl might trust her a little more. She really, _really_ hopes so, because what happened in the skyscraper today had been no less that torture.

Being there again, that overwhelming sense of loneliness, fuck, she was stupid to think that after coming here she'd never feel something like that ever again.

She _can't_ feel like that ever again. She won't. She won't let it happen.

Yuri goes to peel back the duvet covers, but just as her fingertips brush against the soft material, a sharp pain jolts from one ear to the other. She hisses, instantly letting go of the quilt in favour of pressing her palms to her ears, doubling over and squeezing her eyes shut. She grinds her teeth, her jaw locking, as the pain rebounds inside her head, feeling like a small bullet is tearing through her skull, her brain. Unable to stop a pained cry from falling past her lips, Yuri digs her nails into her skin as a way to distract from the pain. Somewhere amidst the dizzying pain, she manages to hear a faint _plop,_ and opens her eyes to look down at the carpet.

Blood slowly soaks itself into the fibres, the dark red on blue appearing to be black. Another droplet appears, Yuri able to see it falling for a split second before it lands. With a shaky hand, she brushes one of her nostrils with the tip of her pointer finger, bringing it back only for it to be coated in scarlet.

" _Shit_ ," she slurs around the excess saliva in her mouth. She staggers her way over to the bathroom, shoving the door open, although the noise goes unnoticed to her because of the ringing in her ears. She somehow ends up at the sink, although she's not too sure how, but she clings to its edge with a death grip. The bright lights and white walls make her head pound all the more, but she hangs her head over the basin, letting the blood pour in steady pumps out of her nose, able to taste the coppery tang that permeates the air.

She curses to herself, not really too sure when she started crying but it's too late for her to stop. The pain is fucking unbearable, only growing worse instead of getting better. The bowl of the sink becomes a mess of tears and saliva and blood, mixing together in a grotesque manner against the stark white. Yuri's breathing is quick, sharp, and much too short, inhaling and exhaling to the time of her racing heartbeat.

_I can't go back, it fucks everything up, I promise!_

She never learns.


	15. Lamb for Slaughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena loses herself.

_"Yena, finally!" a voice calls out to her, barely audible over the thumping music that ricochets inside her head. Yena pushes her way through the thick crowd, overcome by the intoxicating aromas of sweat and perfume and some strong scented drink that permeate the air. The warehouse is completely dark, for the most part, save for the strobe, neon lighting that flashes and flares from the stage where some band is playing. Yena shoves past a few more people before she breaks out to where the crowd ebbs, and makes her way over to the far wall of the warehouse that Sihyeon and Yiren are leaned up against._

_Yena wouldn't call herself friends with Sihyeon or Yiren, that's too strong a word. Then again, they're more to her than acquaintances too, so what they mean to one another is a bit of a grey area. Of course, the pair are closer with each other than they are with Yena, that's a given, they've known each other since the tender ages of twelve and thirteen respectively back when they first started junior high. They go to a different school than Yena, private instead of public, and from what Yena's heard they both despise it there more than anything._

_Yena kind of likes them. They're fun to hang around with, and they don't ask too many questions. They're chill with her liking girls, and the only reason Yena found that out was because she caught them kissing round the back way during her very first encounter with them both. So, that's how Yena always knew that she would never be able to replicate what they have with one another, even if they both see each other in different ways._

_Yiren looks at Sihyeon like she carries the moon in her irises. Sihyeon looks at Yiren like she's a fantasy fulfilled._

_Yena feels bad for Yiren a lot of the time._

_She makes her way over to them, and Yiren's hand reaches out to entwine with Yena's fingers, her other softly taking a hold of Yena's chin to press an airy kiss to her cheek. "We've been waiting ages for you, darling," Yiren drawls sweetly into her ear, breath like warm milk fanning over Yena's skin. She's always been ridiculously pretty, Yiren. Slim eyes and a gently sloped nose and berry stained lips that she knows how to curl into delicate smiles and knowing simpers. Tonight she's wearing a short, black leather skirt, and a strapless red top that shows off her collarbones and well-toned stomach. Her dark hair cascades over her shoulders, sleek and soft looking, a dark colour smudged on her eyelids and fishnets criss-crossing up to her knees. She knows how to look good, and she fucking_ knows _it too. Yena remembers when she first met her, she'd always thought that Yiren was a bit empty-headed, someone who relied on her face to get what she wants. And while, yes, it's a trusted method (Yena's the prime example), her being empty headed couldn't have been further from the truth."Sihyeonie and I were so worried you were gonna pull a no-show, especially on such a special day,"_

_Sihyeon's hand rests on Yena's shoulder, before her sharp fingernails dance down the irregularities of Yena's ribcage, down to her waist, and resting there. "Happy birthday," she lets out a soft breath of laughter when Yena simply rolls her eyes. She runs her free hand through Yena's hair. She smells like stewed apples and vodka, sweet with sour undertones like usual. Sihyeon is taller than her and Yiren, which is something Yena secretly likes even though she'd rather die than admit it, Sihyeon would never let her hear the end of it. She's better than Yiren at keeping her feelings to herself, doesn't let things get anything more personal than necessary, which Yena appreciates. She's with them for a good time, not to deal with people's issues like a fucking therapist. "Yiren and I got you something,"_

_Yena glares at her half heartedly. "I fucking told you both not to make a big deal out of it. I didn't get you shit when it was your birthday,"_

_Yiren plops her head precariously on Yena's shoulder, rubbing slow circles into the back of her hand with her thumb. "Well it's not like we expected you to," she points out, and Yena can hear the pout in her tone when she speaks. "Relax, darling," she presses her lips to the hot skin of Yena's throat, barely there yet still enough to send shivers down her spine. "It's not everyday our favourite girl turns eighteen,"_

_Our favourite girl._

_Maybe that's half the reason Yena always finds herself coming back to them. It's nice to be someone's favourite, addictive even, even if it's all fake._

_Yiren and Sihyeon don't give her a card, because "They're expensive and you throw them out after like, a week,", which Yena admittedly agrees with, but they do gift her with a picture of the three of them that they'd drunkenly taken at one of the previous warehouse parties, Yiren in the middle tossing up a peace sign, Sihyeon on her right laughing while holding a bottle of god only knows what. Yena's got her arms around them both, squeezing poor Yiren in the middle, and she's looking at them both with too much fondness. Yena thinks that's probably why they chose this photo in particular, those sly fuckers. They're much too smart and much too cunning for their own good._

_They also give Yena a charm bracelet, because even though they're sly fuckers, they're rich sly fuckers with so much money they don't know what to do with it all. There're three charms on the bracelet, which Sihyeon smugly tells her represents each of them._

_"I'm the mirror," Yiren says airily, flicking the small, handheld mirror with a dainty finger when Yena holds it up to inspect it. "Because I'm prettier than both of you combined,"_

_Neither Yena or Sihyeon object to that._

_"Sihyeonie's the camera, because she likes to take pictures of us," Yiren wiggles her eyebrows at Yena, overly suggestive, and Yena can't stop herself from laughing. The vintage camera lets out a low, dull sound once Yiren's fingernail collides with it, swinging from its chain and glinting in the low light._

_Sihyeon hums lowly, still running her hands through Yena's hair comfortingly. "It's because I like looking at you both," she purrs, and Yena shudders._

_"So," Yiren continues on. "That leaves-"_

_"The hourglass," Yena cuts her off. "Because I found you both at the exact right time," the answer is obvious because they've both told her that so many times. That Yena couldn't have found them at a better time, that her joining them was no accident like it seemed to be. That she was meant to be with them._

_"Baby's smart," Sihyeon's eyes become hooded, just about audible over the thunderous bass that runs in their systems, whispering once more just Yena presses their lips together without a second thought. "You're ours,"_

I belong to them as much as someone can without meaning anything to them whatsoever, _Yena thinks to herself, losing herself in the sensation of Sihyeon kissing her harder, deeper, her hands still running over her, as Yiren sweetly kisses her neck._

_"C'mon," Yiren speaks against her skin after a short while, giving Yena's hand a few insistent tugs. "Wanna dance with you both," her voice comes out breathy, high pitched. "And get you drunk,"_

_She's as shameless as usual._

_Yiren always dances in the middle, it's sort of an unspoken rule that they have. She's always been a bit on the needier side compared to Sihyun and Yena, likes to have them both as close as possible to her at the same time. Yena thinks it's also because she gets to have Sihyeon with her at all times without making it obvious. Yena often wonders if Sihyeon's noticed Yiren's infatuation for her, outside of messy kisses and lingering touches. Or, more to the point, if she cares. If she knows and kisses her regardless._

_Like now. Yiren has her back pressed up against Yena's chest, her hips moving in slow, tantalising circles as Yena grips onto the heated skin of her waist. Yiren's head is resting back on Yena's shoulder, entwining one of her pretty hands into Yena's hair and letting short, soft pants out of her parted lips. Her eyes are closed in bliss, allowing Yena the time to appreciate the copious amounts of time she probably spent on her eye make-up, glittering softly along with the powder on her cheekbones. Sweat has begun to collect on the dip of her skin just above the jut of her collarbones, small droplets appearing on her throat and smearing on her flesh where Sihyeon has her lips._

_Yiren's free hand grips at the back of Sihyeon's head, encouraging her to keep her lips on her throat. Yena watches them both with beady eyes, simply because they're both a gorgeous sight to look at, but also because, like in the picture, she's hopelessly_ fond _._

_She's fond of them both. It's nothing like love, but shit, she still fucking cares for them._

_Shaking her head, she clicks her tongue, before leaning in and gently kissing Yiren's cheek, tucking the girl's hair behind her ear._  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  


_"Aren't you coming, darling?"_

_Yena looks at them, melancholy, because shit, she really fucking wants to. "I wish," she sighs, shivering because of the cold outside. The voluptuous beats coming from inside are slightly muffled, meaning that she doesn't have to shout in order for them to hear her. "But I should probably get back home,"_

_Sihyeon shrugs, drawing Yiren closer to her for warmth, and Yena sees Yiren's face light up involuntarily. "Your loss. See you next week?"_

_Yena nods, and leaves them both. She doesn't know whether she's doing Yiren a favour, or if she's raising her like a lamb for slaughter._  
  
  
  


━━━━  
  
  
  


_"Where were you?" Her mother hisses, sitting at the kitchen table. The bags under her eyes are dark, sagged, making her face look much older than it actually is, and her lips are twisted like she'd sucked on something sour._

_Yena rolls her eyes, ruffling at her hair as she makes her way over to the fridge in search of water that might lessen the pain of tomorrow's inevitable hangover. "Out with some friends," it's not a lie, technically, but she knows it's not what her mother wants to hear._

_"As if that's an excuse," her mother's voice becoming laced with this much spite has become more frequent as of late. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"_

_Yena checks the clock on the wall. It looks funny, but she just about manages to make out the time. "Nearly four,"_

_"Don't talk back!"_

_"You fucking asked!"_

_Her mother lets out a defeated sigh, burying her face into her hands. She doesn't look like she's gotten a wink of sleep in the past month. "I don't know who you're hanging out with, but this- this_ thing, _it needs to stop. It's not good for you,"_

_"Yeah, you're right," Yena fills a glass from the bottle she'd retrieved from the fridge. "You don't know who I'm hanging out with, so you can't say shit,"_

_Her mother's eyes narrow. "Actually, I do know," she seethes. "It's those two girls in your phone case, isn't it?"_

_Yena stills, the rim of the glass at her lips. "Shut the fuck up,"_

_Her mother nods to herself, looking like she'd triumphed. "So that's who it is. They're the ones who changed you, who took you away from-"_

_"Shut the fuck up!" Yena yells. "You don't say a- a motherfucking wuh_ -word _about them! They didn't change me because- because you never knew me in the first place!" She_ _screams_ _, throwing the glass in her rage_ _, narrowly missing her mother and hitting the wall behind her_ _. It shatters into hundreds of small pieces, shards that cling to the low light of their kitchen, creating a tinkling melody that contrasts sharply with the situation._

_Her mother flinches, and they stand in silence for a few moments, Yena's heavy breathes the only audible thing in the room._

_Then, her mother leaves._ _Without a word, just stands up and walks out of the room._

_Yena curses to herself, stuffing a hand into the pocket of her jacket and pulling out the pack of cigarettes that Sihyeon had given her, lighting one up and cursing under her breath._

_She should've gone home with Yiren and Sihyeon. They may be dangerous, but fuck, they make it easy to forget._  
  
  


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Yena doesn't really sleep much that night. She gets a couple intermittent hours, maybe three or so, but she eventually gives up in favour of heading out onto the balcony. It's still pale outside, the sun only just having risen, but the city still looks to have been going tirelessly. She pulls out another cigarette, blaming her dream, and sticks it in between her teeth, leaving it there for a few moments before lighting it.

She looks down at her wrist, resting on the rail, or more specifically the bracelet that Sihyeon and Yiren had given her more than two years ago at this stage. She's often considered selling it, God knows it's probably worth a fortune, but somehow she's always busy whenever the time to trade it in comes around. At least, that's what she's convinced herself.

It's been over a year and a half since she'd last seen them both. She kind of misses them, from time to time. She wonders if Yiren is still suffering, or if she's still holding it in like she had been for the entire three years that Yena knew her for. She wonders if Sihyeon's clicked it yet, or rather, admitted that she has.

An hourglass. It had made sense in the moment, but now, it's laughable.

It's still a funny thing, time. 


	16. Target

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena gains another addiction.

"You're always up ridiculously early,"

Yena flinches, dropping the bracelet and letting it hang from her wrist, discretely letting her sleeve slip over it to hide the silver chain. She looks to her left, Yuri on the balcony like she was last night, the gentle breeze making her chestnut hair float delicately around her face. Her face is slightly droopy, looking like she's just woken up.

Yena directs her statement back at her. "And so are you,"

Yuri rubs at her eyes, yawning groggily. "I don't like staying in bed in the morning. Makes me feel sluggish," she stretches her arms up, facing out towards the skyline. "What time did they say we could leave our rooms at again?"

"Six," Yena replies shortly. "But I don't think breakfast is until seven,"

Yuri lets out a sigh, pulling out a phone from the waistband of her pyjamas. She clicks it on, the screen illuminating for a moment before it turns off automatically. "And it's half six now," she muses to herself. "It's really annoying that these things don't work," she huffs out, holding up her phone again. "No reception, no pictures, apps, nothing. Everything crashes as soon as it opens,"

That really doesn't sit well with Yena. She turns her head sharply, and Yuri responds in kind to the movement. "You're serious?"

Yuri blinks at her. "Well yeah. You hadn't noticed?"

Yena swallows, shrugging nonchalantly. "I don't have a phone. Too expensive,"

It's a half truth. Phones are expensive, but it wouldn't be hard for her to find an old, cheap one just to have. But phones are easy to hack into, much too easy to steal information off of, and in her line of work, information is quite literally everything. Yena doesn't think she's had a phone since... well, since Yiren and Sihyeon left the picture.

Yuri nods, looking a little guilty as she turns to face the city again. "Sorry," she mumbles. "I shouldn't have just assumed,"

Yena laughs, satirical. "It's not that big a deal, close to everyone has one nowadays. Besides, at least my mind isn't plagued by a constant craving for recognition online,"

Yuri rolls her eyes. "Oh my God, do not tell me you're one of those types,"

"And what if I am?"

Yuri gives her the side eye, to which Yena snickers. "Then you're lucky you're pretty,"

"Mmh, you're right," Yena drawls. "We should go snoop around before breakfast, suss this place out,"

Yuri shakes her head. "I can't believe you,"

Yena's already stepping back inside her room. "Race you to see who can get ready first?"

Yuri grins, letting out a laugh. "Oh, you bitch, it is _on_ ,"

Yena is ready ages before Yuri, but she waits for the other girl to leave her room first just to see that addictive fucking smile of hers on her face.  
  
  
  


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In the evening, Yeongsik calls them all to the arena, claiming that he has news for them. Upon arrival, there are two tables laid out for them like there are at their meals, the boys naturally gravitating towards one table, and the girls the other. What really catches attention, however, is a large, deep red velvet curtain covering the wall on which Yeongsik's chair is elevated. It instantly causes conversation between the ten of them, discussing what it is and what it might be hiding. Yeongsik arrives not too long after them with Sakura in tow, and his presence alone is enough to get people to stop talking.

Yena glares at him once she catches sight of him, feeling her blood boil when she remembers how much pain her and Yuri had been in the previous night. How she knows that Yuri is bottling up whatever made her act out like that and acting like she's gotten over it. She wants to stand up in her seat, yell and scream and _demand_ answers from him, but she's not going to be the one to show anger like that. Plus, she's seen the consequences of what happens when rules aren't obeyed.

Yuri too, seems to notice her restlessness, so the girl places a hand on her arm as a silent comfort.

"As I'm sure some of you have pieced together already, it is not possible for us to commence a fully fair tournament, until I have you whittled down to eight. Tournaments don't work unless there is a suitable number of contestants. Originally I was going to split you up into teams for your very first task, it was going to work out marvellously. Four groups of three, one person from each group eliminated, which would leave me with that lovely number eight that I need," Yeongsik sighs, overly dramatic, and Yena kind of wants to punch him. She really doesn't like this man. "But then, Kim Yohan had to go an disobey my rules, and I was left with no choice other than to eliminate him. But because of that, I was left an uneven number of participants, which would mean the teams would be unfair. And, Sakura will tell you, I am a very fair man,"

Next to Yeongsik, Sakura hums pleasantly with a bob of her head.

"So I was faced with no choice other than to set you Yesterday's task early. It was going to be saved for a different point in time, but alas, we move on. You can all thank Yohan for having to go through all that pain," he grins toothily, akin to a shark. "No one ever said Empire was going to be easy!" he exclaims, raising his voice. "You want power? You want your name on the top? You've got to persevere in order to get there!" his words echo around the arena, and he pauses for effect. "The elimination phase will continue until there are eight of you remaining. With Kim Yohan and Lee Hangyul having left Empire, that means in our next round, two competitors will be eliminated," he leans forward in his seat, his bad eye gleaming maliciously. "The next round will be a team round,"

His words evoke uneasy stares and whispers throughout the group, which are silenced by a hard look from Sakura.

"A two on two and a three on three, two separate matches. Out of the losing teams, the victors will vote on who they wish gone from the competition, and the two losing competitors with the highest number of votes will be eliminated," he pauses again, letting everyone digest what he's just said.

Yena's eyes find Yuri's. She's not too sure what it means, but she's got an inkling that it wouldn't be bad idea, as the pair who'd reached the top of the skyscraper second and third respectively.

"Those who made it to the top of the skyscraper last night first will get priority," Yeongsik announces, and all eyes flit over to Hyewon. "Meaning Kang Hyewon will receive priority, as her reward for completing the task first,"

Yena tuts under her breath as Hyewon keeps that same poker face, even when she stands up after Yeongsik crooks a finger at her to beckon her forward. He holds up a hand for her to stop once she's stood a couple metres in front of the curtained wall, and Sakura begins to walk down the steps away from the elevated seat and onto the same level as the rest of them. "Kang Hyewon," he muses, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other. "Would you like to compete in the two versus two, or the three versus three?"

Even though she mightn't like her, Yena does admire Hyewon for being able to keep her expression so unreadable. Yena isn't able to gauge any emotion out of her, isn't able to tell what she might be thinking, and she knows that no one in this room is able to predict whether or not she'll pick two or three.

"Three," Hyewon answers quietly, the single word barely carrying around the room. Some of the other's faces shift into confused expressions, obviously not having heard given that Hyewon's back is to them all.

Sakura sashays over to her like a skater on a rink, placing a hand on her shoulder with a sugary smile. She sees her deftly hand Hyewon something, pushing it into the palm of her hand. It's too small for Yena to see, but it's hard for her to miss the way Sakura whispers something into her ear before confidently sauntering in the direction of the curtained wall.

Whispers fly around the two tables again, wondering what Hyewon had been given, but all goes silent when Sakura places her hand on the large curtain. She looks to be enjoying the suspense all too much, judging by the quirk to her lips and the way she keeps them waiting.

"C'mon," Yena hears someone murmur under their breath. "Just do it already,"

All at once, Sakura tugs the large piece of velvety material off the wall, a loud _whoosh_ echoing throughout the arena. People stand up in their seats, craning their necks and looking past Hyewon to see what had been unveiled.

Yena tilts her head once she catches sight of it.

It's a small archery target. The size of a dart board really.

 _That's what Sakura gave Hyewon._ It dawns on Yena as she catches them glinting in the palm of Hyewon's hand. _Darts._

She squints at the dart board closer, leaning forward, and upon further inspection she realises that pictures of them are stuck in the different sections of the target. The pictures that had been taken last night before the dance. The target has been divided into different sized squares, so that each picture has its own zone.

And Yuri's face is on the bullseye.

"It's quite simple, in theory," Yeongsik drawls from his seat, thumbing at his thin moustache. "You have two darts. Whoever's area you hit, is who's on your team. It's been done out in the order that you all came out onto the rooftop last night, hence why Jo Yuri is in the middle,"

Eyes darting over to her, Yena sees Yuri swallow nervously. It makes sense, when Yena thinks about it. Even though she'd always labelled it as them both being second, she technically allowed Yuri through the door before her.

It would've been nice to have her own face in the bullseye.

"Choi Yena and Kwon Eunbi, third and fourth respectively, are in the red, and so on. So," that grin if his never seems to slip from his face. "Whenever you're ready, Kang Hyewon,"

All eyes turn to Hyewon, who takes her first dart into her right hand without hesitance. You could hear a pin drop, with how quiet is, and everyone seems to be holding their breath as Hyewon bends her arm so that the dart is next to her ear, ready to throw. Yena doesn't know who she has in mind, who she wants to be on a team with. She doubts Hyewon is thrilled by the idea of working with other people in the first place, although the only thing Yena is judging that by is her lack of contact with others. She recalls her saying something yesterday night, about how Eunbi or Wooseok coming up onto the roof after her wouldn't have surprised her. So, perhaps she'd be aiming for someone like them.

Hyewon goes through the motions, twice, three times, before finally letting the dart fly. It seems to fly through the air for ages, even though it's nothing more than a few seconds. It sticks firmly into the target, on the edge of one of the pictures, and Yena sees Hyewon's shoulders sag a little. 

"Oh. I missed,"

That's all she says, neither happy nor disappointed sounding, though Yena's got an inkling that who she got hadn't been who'd she'd been aiming for.

The first dart landed on Hyeongjun.

All eyes are on him at once, and if his wide eyes are anything to go by, he hadn't expected to be first at all. Hyeongjun and Hyewon is something Yena can't really picture. Hyewon is stoic, and admittedly sort of scary now that she's beaten them all by a long shot in the previous task. On the other hand, Hyeongjun is one of the "short ones", is easy to let out his emotions, and his ability to control nature don't really aid him in breaking out of his softer image.

"Song Hyeongjun," Yeongsik muses. "Interesting. Well, throw the next one,"

By the time everything has run through Yena's head, Hyewon is already preparing to throw her second and final dart, miming out her motions like she did with the first. She throws it, always confident in her actions, and a dull _thunk_ resounds about the place when it hits the dart board, this time on-

Oh for fuck's sake. Yena really needs to figure out who's who when it comes to Minju and Chaewon, because it's either one or the other. Like it's getting ridiculous at this stage. Whoever it is, it's the one with the shorter hair.

"Ah, Kim Chaewon," Yeongsik nods to himself. "Interesting, interesting,"

Oh, thank God. Yena will never forget ever again. _Chaewon has short hair, Minju has long hair. Easy._

Hyewon lets out a short, monotonous hum, and Yena just about manages to catch her mumbling. "Not so bad, I suppose,"

Next to Yena, Minju (it feels so nice to say her name with confidence) seems to hear Hyewon too. She tenses up, and moves to stand up out of her seat, just as Chaewon takes a hold of her arm and forces her to stay put. "Don't," Yena hears her hiss, and in her peripheral vision she sees Minju staring at Hyewon, unblinking, her nostrils flaring with each heavy exhale.

Maybe she's imagining it, but from outside, Yena thinks she hears the wind pick up.

Hyewon turns around, arching an eyebrow at Minju, before handing the darts back to Sakura. Yena hears more, indecipherable whispering from Chaewon, probably trying her best to calm the other down.

As Sakura walks back over to the board, Yeongsik speaks out again. "So, that is our first team formed. The three of you are free to leave, while our next person up-" Yeongsik's eyes fall to Yuri, like a lion spotting an antelope in the long grass. "Jo Yuri, isn't it? Will choose who she competes with,"

Hesitantly, Chaewon and Hyeongjun stand up from their seats. Yena manages to catch Hyeongjun's eye as Yuri too, stands up, throwing him a reassuring smile. He responds similarly, though appearing as though he doesn't really know what to make of the situation.

By the time the three of them have left the arena, Yuri is stood in front of the dart board, looking a lot more composed and a lot let nervous than Yena had anticipated. Yena herself, for some reason, now has butterflies flitting around inside her stomach.

Yeongsik asks Yuri the same question he asked Hyewon as Sakura removes Yuri's, Hyeongjun's, and Chaewon's pictures from the target, leaving only six pictures to remain. "Do you want a team of two or a team of three?"

Yuri's shoulders rise up before slowly falling as she takes in a breath. "Team of two,"

Sakura wordlessly hands Yuri a single dart this time instead of two, and when Yuri makes no attempt at conversation, Sakura catches her eye and gives her an attempted wink. Yuri only rolls her eyes.

"Whenever you're ready. You've only got one shot, so use this chance wisely," Yeongsik drones on, but Yena doesn't really listen. She keeps her eyes trained on Yuri, on her form, on who she's planning to hit that dart with because-

_Please be me._

Not even caring anymore, Yena silently pleads for Yuri's dart to somehow hit her, for it to somehow veer away from all the other faces, defy all the odds, and land on her picture.

Yuri bends her arm, raising the dart in line with her ear like Hyewon had done.

She throws it, and it lands on the target with the gentle _thud._


	17. Get a Grip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which trust is hard to gain.

Yena feels her heart stop, and she can barely watch as Yuri's dart slices through the air. Shutting her eyes and pressing her lips together, she clenches her fists beneath the table, listening to those around her for a reaction once she hears Yuri's dart hit the dartboard. People begin to whisper, around her, and she hears shuffling.

The silence is unbearable. Yena can't bring herself to open her eyes.

Time seems to slow, to stretch on, and then after the longest time-

"Choi Yena,"

Eyes snapping open, Yena's gaze immediately searches for the target, for the dart. The dart that just managed to snag onto the very edge of Yena's own picture.

Allowing her shoulders to lose their tension and letting out the breath she didn't even know she was holding, Yena looks over at Yuri. The girl's eyes are glimmering with elation, lips pressed together like she's trying her very best to suppress a grin from splitting her face.

"What an intriguing combination," Yeongsik deliberates, but Yena's hardly listening to him, too relieved that out of all the people here that she could've been forced to work with, it was Yuri. That out of everyone in this room, Yuri (judging by the look on her face), had aimed for her.

"Our second team, already formed. Well, you're both free to leave then, anf the rest of us will continue on, hm?"

Yena stands up much too fast. She doesn't even care to scold herself for it, to remind herself that this isn't how it's supposed to go.

"Sakura, you can take Yena's picture off of the board now. So. Who's next?"  
  
  
  
  
  


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"You should uh... come into my room,"

Yena turns to look at Yuri, hand on the doorknob of her own room. Yuri doesn't look her in the eye as she says it, rather looks down at her shoes and plays with her fingers absentmindedly. It's just verging on dusk now, and the others are more than likely still in the arena picking teammates. Both girls had walked up in the direction of their rooms, both in the same area of course, and they've been all but silent.

("You meant to hit me, right? Like you were aiming for me?"

"Mmh, I don't know. I was just trying not to miss the target to be honest with you,"

" _Yuri,_ "

"Hey, I'm just saying! Luck was on your side tonight,"

"You're so insufferable, oh my God,"

"Don't see you complaining,")

Although she's admittedly taken aback by Yuri's request (although it's less of a request and more of a shy demand, to be honest), Yena easily picks up on the other girl's hesitance. So, she leans back casually, raising a brow. "I should what?"

Yuri's cheeks colour softly, a hue of punch that Yena thinks suits her quite nicely. "Hang out in my room with me for a while, just cuz like, you know, we're teammates now or whatever. Might as well," she shrugs, and when Yena lets out an involuntary snort, her eyeline snaps upwards from the floor. Once she sees that Yena is doing her best not to smile, she gasps, much more dramatic than necessary, hitting her lightly on the shoulder. "Oh my God, you're such a-" another blow to Yena's other shoulder this time. "-fucking _bitch_!"

"No, no!" Yena exclaims, laughing, holding up her hands in self defence as Yuri continues to rain less-than-terrifying hits to her upper arms. "I'm not laughing at you, I promise! I'm just endeared, chill, you're so easy to rile up,"

Yuri lets out a huff, pointing a finger at Yena's face. "Well you can take that endearment and fucking... I don't know," she throws up her hands in exasperation. "Just take the invitation or leave it, damn," her words are flippant, careless and completely indifferent, however there's a slight edge to them. An edge that makes Yena think that Yuri is genuinely thinking about what Yena's response will be.

So, that's how Yena finds herself sat at the edge of Yuri's bed, Yuri herself propped up against her own array of pillows and cushions as she tosses Yena a few. Her room has the exact same layout as Yena's, same carpet, same bed, same wardrobe, bathroom, everything, so it's easy for her to navigate. It also means the lights of the city stain Yuri's room in the same way they do Yena's, and, well, Yena's said it before.

Neon colours look good on Yuri.

The room is dark, neither of them really bothered to switch on the lights, and Yena couldn't be more grateful for that. Because the different coloured lights stream into the room, harsh and overly saturated, yet somehow settling in like they're coming home on Yuri's skin, curling up on her cheekbones and nestling into her hair. They sharpen her features, dramatising the contrast between the shadows and the light, giving her a haunting yet almost angelic look and Yena can't quite seem to stop staring at her. Her fringe casts a thick shadow over her eyes, Yuri, so it's hard to see her face, but even with half of it out of view it's plain as day that Yuri's still beautiful. Yena wonders if it's because of her abilities that the light soaks so pretty into her skin.

"The dart," Yena speaks up, and Yuri raises her line of sight to look at her. Even her eyes, something Yena wouldn't have really noticed before, seem to hold all the different shades that stream in through the windows, a bleeding pinwheel of pinks and purples and blues that gleam in the low light. "Did you really hit my picture? Or did you just want it to appear like you did?"

One corner of Yuri's lips quirks, and she sits up a little straighter, bending one of her knees and lifting it to her chest. "Do you think I did?"

Yena purses her lips. "Honestly? I have no idea," she pauses. "It's... hard to read you,"

Yuri lets out a soft puff of laughter, just a single breath and nothing more, turning her head to the side to look out the window. "You had your eyes closed as I threw it," she turns back to face Yena then, and pins her down with a hard, invasive gaze. "Do you not trust me?"

The question hits close to what's been running through Yena's mind for the past while, and she narrows her eyes. "Why would I? I've only known you a few days,"

Yuri regards her carefully, for a few moments, looking her up and down with mirth slowly being smeared on her features. "Tell me about yourself then,"

Yena blinks. "What?"

Yuri smiles, tight lipped, drawing her other leg into her chest and resting her chin on her knees. "You said it yourself - we hardly know each other," she tilts her head to the side. "And if you and I are gonna be teammates, then we're gonna have to know each other in some shape or form. So," she leans back, stretching out her legs again and wiggling to get comfortable. "Tell me about yourself, Choi Yena,"

Yena thinks for a moment, crossing her legs and holding onto her ankles, gently rocking back and forth on the mattress. "Well what do you wanna know?"

Yuri juts out her bottom lip, giving her a look that screams _I don't have a clue._ "I don't know, it's not that hard of a question. What do you do for a living?"

Yena heaves a sigh. "Of course you'd ask that,"

"It's a basic question!"

"It's complicated, alright,"

"I'm still listening,"

Yena sighs again. "I suppose... I'm kind of an information broker, of sorts,"

Yuri doesn't look all too convinced, and Yena can't really blame her. In her shoes, she doesn't know if she'd believe it either. "Why am I getting a feeling that that's only a half truth," she scrunches up her face in thought.

"Probably because you'd be right," Yena admits. "But that's a whole other conversation for a different time. What about you? Or have you even moved out yet?"

Yuri nods. "I have. Just recently too. I moved here just a couple months ago after I graduated from school, but I haven't found proper work yet. It's half the reason I really agreed to do this thing, to be honest with you,"

"Where'd you move from?"

"Paris,"

" _Paris?_ " Yena squawks in repetition, causing Yuri to let out a snort of laughter. "Fuck off. You're serious? I was expecting you to say like, I don't know, fucking Busan or something like that, holy shit,"

"Yeah," Yuri laughs. "I lived there almost all my life. I was adopted, my actual parents thought it'd be chill to just fuck off once I was born, and I had a few foster families before I was adopted when I was like six or something. The husband was Korean but the wife was French, so they moved there the moment they adopted me, and I grew up there basically,"

Yena holds up a hand to stop her. "Whoa, shit, information dump. I need time to process all that hold on," she massages her temples, and it's worth it when Yuri chuckles softly. "So you spent all your life in Paris?"

"Pretty much,"

"Can you speak it? French, I mean,"

Yuri smirks. " _Oui_ ,"

Yena kind of wants to cry because Yuri speaking French really shouldn't be so hot, but here Yena is, suffering regardless.

It must show on her face, because Yuri bursts into laughter again, leaning forward and lightly hitting her arm. "Don't look at me like that, I thought I already told you to keep your hormones in check,"

Yena scoffs, giving her a side eye. "Bitch," she mutters under her breath, yet still keeping her voice loud enough for Yuri to hear.

Yuri simply hits her again, not that Yena minds at all. Each time Yuri touches her, the sensation lingers, persists for a few moments before fading, and a chill drags its nails down Yena's spine.

They continue to talk for god only knows how long, sharing anecdotes and snippets of their lives to each other, conversation flowing so smoothly that Yena doesn't even notice time going by. In the time that they speak to each other, Yena's learned how hard it was for Yuri to make friends abroad, how her initial discovery of her abilities scared the living daylights out of her. For as long as Yuri talks, Yena listens, preferring to let the younger girl ramble on about whatever interests her rather than talking about herself. She's _endearing,_ Yena will admit that to herself, the way she gestures grandly to get her point across, the way she stutters and stumbles over her words in a rush to get them out of her mouth whenever something excites her.

She's all contrast, Yuri. She's short, but her personality is eccentric, she's pretty and shy looking but her voice is deep and low and can cause Yena to shudder. She could listen to Yuri talking for hours on end, shit, the girl could be relaying facts about different kinds of vegetables and Yena would likely still listen intently.

"It's late," Yena announces a ways into the night, stretching out her limbs before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. "I should probably go back to my room. You should sleep, too,"

"Just sleep here," Yuri covers up her words with a yawn, appearing casual, but like before there's a hint of nerves masked by her casual phrasing. "It's late as it is, you'll get into trouble if they see you outside your room at this hour,"

Yena puts on a scandalised expression, gasping dramatically. "You did not just ask me to sleep with you,"

Yuri groans, throwing a pillow at her, which Yena successfully dodges. "You're so annoying!" she whines. "You like, seriously need to get laid,"

"Don't tempt me!" Yena calls out, ruffling her hair as she pads barefoot over to the bathroom. "I'm cleansing,"

"I _really_ did not need to know that!" Yena just about hears Yuri respond as she closes the bathroom door behind her, unable to stop herself from letting out a laugh that echoes off the pristine walls.

It's when she catches sight of herself in the mirror that Yena freezes. She's smiling, so, so wide, and the expression slowly drips from her face like candle wax the longer she stares at the reflection. Swallowing thickly, she walks over to the sink, turning the tap on and collecting water in her palms, gently splashing it onto her face. _Get a fucking grip._

She grips onto the edge of the sink with both hands, staring her reflection in the eye.

_Do you not trust me?_

Yena shakes her head, water dripping from her skin and falling into the sink with soft, therapeutic _plops._ She smiles bitterly.

_Not a fucking chance._


	18. Slow Breaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena lost her everything.

_"Oh, here-" Sihyeon helps Yena light the cigarette, who's having some difficulty getting it to spark. "There you go. Breathe nice and slow, you might feel a bit-"_

_She's cut off by Yena spluttering, coughing like she'd swallowed food down the wrong way, the smoke being expelled through her lips in thin wisps. "Jesus, damn," she croaks, coughing again. "I was not expecting that, what the fuck,"_

_Yiren giggles. "Don't worry, we're all the same. You'll get used to it eventually as long as you keep going,"_

_Yena looks at her doubtfully, yet inhales another inexperienced drag, ignoring the foul taste and focusing more on the faint buzz that's already starting to flit inside her head. She breathes out, transfixed by the way the smoke seems to almost hiss at the cold air in a hostile manner, a warmth spreading through her bloodstream. And, after another intake or two, she begins to feel a little lighter, and the burning at the back of her throat progressively becomes more and more numb. "Shit," she breathes. "It's kinda nice,"_

_Yiren smiles sweetly. "Isn't it? And it'll get even better the more you try," she tuts to herself as Sihyeon plucks the cigarette from between Yena's lips with her thumb and forefinger. "We've tainted her even more now, Sihyeonie,"_

_Sihyeon playfully blows a puff of smoke into Yiren's face, making the youngest whine. "I've got a feeling Yena would've ended up like this no matter who she was with," she reaches out, gently running a hand through Yena's hair before letting it fall to her waist. "But I also think that no matter what timeline or what other alternate universe we're in, you'd still end up finding us somehow," she tilts her head with a smile. "Fate, or something like that,"_

_While Yena flushes, Yiren scoffs, bratty like usual, snatching the cigarette out of Sihyeon's hold. "Look at you, acting all philosophical," she huffs out. "Just because you're sixteen now doesn't mean that you can act all high and mighty,"_

_"I'll do what I want, thanks," Sihyeon retorts, pausing, before reaching into the pocket of her jacket. "Hold on, don't move," she bristles, her hand shuffling around inside her pocket before pulling out her phone. The phone is big, with a large screen and a multitude of cameras, similar to Yiren's yet unable to be any more unlike Yena's. Yena's phone is at least four years behind the average person's, with a cracked screen and a loading time that sometimes makes her want to tear her eyes out of their sockets._

_Sihyeon's fingers dance daintily across the phone screen as she opens up the camera app, Yiren staying completely still as requested as Sihyeon snaps a few pictures, both portrait and landscape, the faux sounds of a camera shutter reverberating around the quiet street. Sihyeon's fingers press a few more icons, Yena wouldn't know what because the makes of their phones are different, but she quickly pulls up the pictures she'd taken._

_"Whoa..." Sihyeon trails off, swiping through the few pictures she'd snapped, her lips quirking. "Pretty,"_

_Yiren looks much too pleased with that remark, sweeping her long, silky hair over her shoulder. "I know," she says, so confident that she doesn't even bother to cast the pictures a glance. "But I'm always pretty,"_

_Sihyeon and Yena both let out soft breaths of laughter, Sihyeon handing her phone over to Yena so she can see the pictures for herself._

_"Hey, don't laugh!" Yena can hear the whine in Yiren's tone, the pout in her lips._

_"We're only laughing because you're so cute, Yiren," Sihyeon reassures her. "Of course you're always pretty,"_

_"Yeah," Yiren nods to herself, a little spaced out, looking to be lost in thought. "Of course I am,"_

_Yena feels bad for Yiren a lot of the time._

_She swipes through the photos on Sihyeon's phone, barely able to hold the giant fucking thing in her hand, breath catching in her throat. Yena's never been able to deny Sihyeon's talent for photography, the way she catches visual and almost moulds them to her will nothing short of absolutely stunning. In the picture, Yiren's just stood in the middle of the street like they are right now, the various lights spattered on her skin bringing all sorts of colours into the image. The light weaves its way through the smoke that's being dispelled from her lips, almost giving off the effect that Yiren's practically breathing colour into the place. And, on top of everything, Yiren is naturally stunning. Her face was basically made for the cameras._

_"Shit," Yena breathes out lowly. She looks up, seeing that Yiren has begun to walk away, most likely assuming that they'll eventually follow, walking along the curb as if it were a tightrope. Yena's gaze shifts from her and back to the photo before handing Sihyeon's phone back. "She's fucking unreal,"_

_"I know," Sihyeon sounds almost smug. She doesn't say anything for a moment, both of them just watching as Yiren walks along, which was probably Yiren's intention for them in the first place. And then, she speaks up again. "She probably wants to kiss you, you know. Or rather, that you kiss her,"_

_Yena tenses up. It's always been a bit vague when it comes to the three of them. Yiren and Sihyeon kiss from time to time (Yena's sure even more when she's absent), that much is obvious, but ever since she'd met them both, their attraction to one another has slowly been stemming out to Yena herself. They've always been touchy with her, Yiren hanging out of her arm and propping her chin on her shoulder, and Sihyeon carding her fingers through her hair, but they've never gone any further than that, with Yena at least._

_"And why do you think that?" Yena finally answers her after taking in a breath, trying to keep her expression under control as much as possible._

_Sihyeon's answer is quick and confident. "Because she and I have similar tastes," she says it like it's obvious, leaving Yena's eyes to widen. The older girl laughs, head tipped back and dark hair running streams down her shoulders as she turns her back on Yena, beginning to walk towards Yiren. "C'mon," she gestures for Yena to follow her over her shoulder. "Let's catch up with her,"_

_Yena chews at her bottom lip, excitement blossoming somewhere in her chest, before running to catch up with them both, the scent of apples lingering in Sihyeon's wake._  
  
  
  
  
  


_━━━━_  
  
  
  
  
  


_"Choi Yena!"_

_Yena only picks up her pace, huddling her jacket tighter around her body to vainly stop the lashing rain from completely and utterly drenching her. She's without a hood, so the rain has her hair a soaked, dripping mess, her feet splashing into puddles with every rage-driven step._

_"What the fuck has gotten into you recently?" Yiren yells from somewhere behind her over the deafening sound of rain pelting down upon the streets, panging loudly against window panes. "Fucking-_ slow down _!"_

_Yena's not going to lie, it fucking stings. It stings having Yiren call out to her with so much hurt, so much anguish laced into her words, but she hikes the collar of her jacket higher so that it covers her neck. She picks up the pace, any faster and she'd be jogging, free hand stuffed into her pocket and water seeping into her shoes._

_Yiren's footsteps grow quicker, louder, running after her, and Yena's heart bleeds when she feels Yiren's fingertips close around her arm. Yiren tugs, hard, so hard that Yena is forced to turn around. "Don't fucking- ignore me!" Yiren screams, taking Yena aback by the sheer volume of her voice. Yiren's always been softly spoken, never really raising her voice unless positively necessary, and all of the three years Yena's known her, Yena doesn't think she's ever seen her like this._

_She tries to shake Yiren's hold off of her, but the girl is stubborn. "Yiren," she tries to ignore the way her voice breaks. "Let go,"_

_There's tears glimmering in Yiren's eyes, shimmering along her tear line and somewhere in the depths of her mind Yena's subconscious ponders over how Sihyeon would photograph it. Yiren just shakes her head, lips trembling, and it's then that it dawns on Yena that she must be fucking freezing. She's wearing the bare minimum, her top from earlier that she must've thrown on before dashing out of Sihyeon's house, and a skirt as short as all her others that leaves her honey-toned skin available for the rainwater to devour. Droplets have begun to collect on her shoulders, running tracks down her face and mixing with her tears, and-_

_Ah._

_Yiren always was a miserable little thing. Beautiful, but so, so miserable._

_"_ Please _," Yiren begs her, tugging on her arm again, voice overflowing with desperation. "Please, just come back inside, we-"_

 _"I said let go!" this time, it's Yena's turn to shout, and a small part of her preens at the satisfaction that it gives her. "The only fucking reason I'm doing this is because you had to go and fall in love with the person that you fucking hook up with! Can't you tell by now? You mean_ nothing _to her!" she rips her arm out of Yiren's grasp, and the other girl- shit, Yena can't bare to look at her face._

 _Fuck, Yena shouldn't have said that, shouldn't have said any of that. Fuck fuck fuck, fucking_ shit _._

_Yiren's expression... even if Yena's emotions weren't fucking all over the place like they are now, it would still bring her to her knees. Yiren just blinks at her, but her eyes are full of broken trust and empty promises, and she looks at Yena like the entire world crumbles at her touch._

_And at this stage, Yena thinks that might just be the case._

_"Yiren,"_

_Yiren turns, and Yena looks beyond her shoulder, and Sihyeon is stood a couple metres away from them both, the rain leaving her completely soaked through, and Yena wants nothing more than to turn back the clock. Turn back time and say something different, wrap herself up in both of their embraces and never leave their sides._ God _, when did everything go so wrong?_

_Sihyeon holds out her hand and gives Yiren a pointed look. "C'mon," she says, short and to the point, and it hits Yena then._

_She's making Yiren choose between them both. Between her and Yena_ _._

_Yiren does a good job of acting like she doesn't know what to do. She looks over her shoulder at Yena, back at Sihyeon, then Yena again. Yena looks her in the eyes, and relays her words to her softly. "You'll fucking ruin yourself," she speaks soft enough so that Sihyeon can't hear, because they both know the answer already. They've all known the answer since they were fifteen years old._

_Yiren turns her back on Yena, and Yena feels her entire world break down._  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_━━━━_  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Yena!"

Yena awakes with a start, sweat pooling on her skin like droplets of rain, a jolting grip on her shoulders and her breaths much, much too short. No matter how hard she tries, her lungs only seem to grow tighter, her ribcage closing in on them with each sharp inhale. She vaguely hears someone cursing somewhere near her, and one of the hands on her shoulders moves away.

"Shit, you're okay, yeah? Breathe nice and slow, you're gonna be just fine,"

Yena tries to focus on what the person is saying, tries to go against her will and slow down her breaths no matter how much her body screams at her to do otherwise.

"Nice and easy, yeah? There you go, that's it,"

Yena's eyes slowly begin to get used to the dark, able to make out the soft, blurry outline of the girl in front of her, is able to register the gentle hand that strokes her hair soothingly.

Oh.

"Yuri?"

"Yeah, it's me," Yuri whispers, voice lulling and soothing and so, so nice. "Everything's okay, yeah? You can go back to sleep,"

In her sleepy haze, Yena tries to shake her head, tries to insist that if she goes back to sleep, she'll only feel worse, but her indecipherable murmurs are cut off with a gentle hush.

"I'll make sure you're safe, hm? Everything will be alright," Yuri soothes, gently laying Yena back down and smoothing out her hair.

As she draws the covers up to Yena's chin, Yena loses the battle to keep her eyes open, which, in all honesty, she was ever going to win in the first place. "Promise?"

There's thick, unbearable silence for several beats too long, and for a terrifying moment Yena fears that Yuri won't reply.

But then, Yuri lets out a soft chuckle, and Yena feels warmth run rampant inside her as a pair of arms are gently wrapped around her. "Promise,"  
  



	19. Sleep Talker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena and Yuri talk.

Yena wakes up.

That in itself is a surprising feat.

Her eyes open groggily, almost too comfortable to even move, blinking so that her vision shifts into focus. She yawns against her own will, strangely warm and ridiculously cozy, feeling as though she could rest her head back on the pillow again and fall right back asleep. And honestly, it's a tempting option.

If not for the cold wash of dread that settles over her.

Yena moves to sit upright, the duvet that had been tucked beneath her chin pooling around her waist as she throws it off of herself, much too hot all of a sudden. However, her movement is limited, and Yena very quickly realises that she's being held by a pair of arms.

Or more specifically, Yuri's arms.

The other girl is still asleep, so Yena's sure that if she wanted to, she could easily pry the girl's hold off of her with ease. But, Yuri looks peaceful, lips slightly parted and lashes brushing delicately at the area of skin just above the apples of her cheeks. Her breath comes out in small, steady puffs, and as Yena shifts, so does Yuri, letting out a gentle hum before going silent again. Her head is tucked into Yena's shoulder, much closer than what Yena's sure she'd be if she were actually conscious. Yena looks at her as she slowly lowers her head to rest on the pillows again, sort of awe stricken, wiggling around a bit so that she doesn't crush Yuri's arm accidentally.

Yena had... actually slept. Asides from waking up at some point, she knows that happened, but usually after waking up she can never go back to sleep, if she even manages to go to sleep in the first place. But last night, shit, she'd slept like a log. She feels completely replenished, and it's... kind of strange.

Yena's stiff under Yuri's touch, staring at the ceiling dead on and blinking hastily, trying to recollect her thoughts and figure out what had happened last night. Or really, very early on this morning. She'd woken up at some point, she knows that. Scrunching up her face, she strains to remember what she'd dreamed of, but the more she thinks, the more information seems to gently waft away from her mind like a paper boat on a stream. She recalls despairing faces, camera shutters and bruising lips, apples and peaches and strangled cries.

And then, someone saying her name softly.

_I'll make sure you're safe, hm? Everything will be alright._

Yena feels her body slowly sink into the mattress. Yuri didn't lie - Yena hasn't slept like that in, well, _a little under two years_ , she thinks to herself, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Finally convincing herself to get out of bed, she carefully pries Yuri's arms off of her, ensuring that the girl is in a comfortable position by gently removing Yuri's head from her shoulder and placing it on one of the pillows. She stands up as quietly as she can, heedful as to not cause too much noise as her feet come to rest on the carpet, letting out a soft sigh of relief when the floorboards beneath her don't creak like the ones in her own home. She presses her lips together and cautiously walks in the direction of the bathroom, bare feed padding softly in the carpet. Once she reaches the door, she extends her arm to its handle, slowly pressing down. But, her attempts are wasted, because as soon as she presses down, the handle lets out a dull yet obnoxious groan.

Behind her, Yena can hear Yuri tossing and turning, and she freezes in her spot. There's so many emotions and thoughts flying through her that she can't tell which one is the most dominant or what she's really feeling, whether or not she's happy that Yuri's possibly awakening. She just presses her lips together, trying to put an emotion on her face that doesn't scream _I just woke up in your arms and it's the best sleep I've had in months and now I don't know what to feel please help?_ It's harder than Yena thought it was going to be.

When Yuri doesn't stir after that, Yena manages to step into the bathroom and close the door behind her successfully, without making too much noise. She walks over to the sink, gripping at the edge of the white ceramic bowl and staring at her reflection. Perhaps it's simply her imagination, but the bags under her eyes seem to have lessened, giving her a brightened appearance instead of coming off as drowsy all the time.

She moves to turn on the tap, but just as her hand reaches out towards the spout, something catches her eye. It's minuscule, so small that she wouldn't have seen it had the bathroom not been so brilliantly white. A small, tiny speck of blood sits bold near the edge of the basin, and Yena looks upon it with curiosity. A million thoughts fly though her head at what could be the reason behind it, but she quickly dismisses them all. It's more than likely nothing.

After splashing cold water on her face to wake herself up even more, Yena steps out of the bathroom, taking a lot more care this time to be gentler with the door handle. However, once she closes the door behind her, she sees that Yuri is already awake.

"Mmh, morning,"

Plastering a smile on her face, Yena feels a slow warmth seep into her at the sound of Yuri's voice, her words slurred and thick with sleep. The girl looks tiny, is the first thing that pops into Yena's mind, looking like she's drowning in the large white duvet that swaddles her, her head peeking out over the top and her hair a mussed up mess. Her eyes are basically still shut, looking like the dawning light streaming in through the large windows is too much for her this early in the morning. She blocks it out by holding a hand up to shield her face, squinting at Yena on the opposite side of the room.

"Hi," Yena replies sheepishly, hand still resting on the handle.

Yuri simply looks at her, for a moment, eyes still squinting and looking like she's having a hard time with getting her brain to function. Eventually she seems to finish buffering, groggily uttering four words that Yena honestly thinks might be the undoing of her someday.

"We need to talk,"

Yena nods slowly, looking down at her feet. She hesitates before breaking the silence. "Right now..?"

Again, Yuri takes her time, her thoughts seeming to be sluggishly filtering through her head as she considers Yena's words. She eventually shakes her head before flopping back to lie down again, cocooning herself inside the covers, the top of her head being the only part of her visible. "Later," her voice is muffled. "'m tired,"

Her stomach exploding with butterflies, Yena feels a bit like a kid again being scolded by her mother. Yet, all the same, she still finds herself endeared by Yuri.

Always endeared. That's all it's going to be.  
  
  
  


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"In all the times that I've seen you asleep, which is literally only twice, you've freaked out over something," Yuri starts, leaning over the edge of the balcony, the summer breeze ruffling at her hair adoringly. "So you really can't blame me for being concerned," she draws her eyes away from the skyline, and focuses her gaze on Yena. "Tell me this is something that doesn't happen and it's just a... crazy coincidence that I've caught you out on the few times that it's happened,"

Yena bites at the inside of her cheek, looking away. "If I did, I'd be lying to you,"

Yuri lets out a soft, gentle huff of air, and it's quiet between the two of them for a few moments. The planes of urban sprawl growl for attention beneath them, the barely-there wind whistling lowly in Yena's ears. It's cloudy, today, a dull sheet of cloud hanging over them and sucking the colour out of the usually vibrant city, stealing the colours from Yuri's irises and washing out the palette of shades on her skin. The clouds block out the sun, so there's a slight chill in the air that's just cool enough to be uncomfortable.

Yena's eyes steal a glance at Yuri again. She looks to be thinking, eyebrows furrowed together as she rubs at her forearms, Yena watching as goosebumps bloom on her flesh. She looks up then, and they instantly lock eyes.

Neither of them look away.

"How long has this been going on for?"

Yena lets her question hang in between them for a few moments before replying. "Maybe... two years or something,"

_As if I haven't counted every single fucking day._

"Two _years?"_ Yuri squawks in repetition, eyebrows raising comically high. "How on Earth can you sleep if-"

"I don't," Yena cuts across her sharply, much too cutting, but the topic is sensitive for her and she's getting more and more agitated the further this conversation drags on. She pats herself down for her pack of cigarettes, and curses herself mentally once she realises that she's left them in her own room. "I don't, that's the fucking point,"

"But Yena, that's not-"

"Not healthy, yeah, I'm aware of that actually," Yena bites out, and inside her head she's screaming at herself to tone it down. Yuri's expression has shifted to guilt ridden, and if that doesn't just make Yena regret everything she's said in the past five minutes.

"Shit, sorry, sorry, I shouldn't be getting frustrated, I'm not helping you," Yuri shakes her head as she presses her hands to her temples.

Yena reaches out, but she retracts her hand just as fast. "No, no it's ok. I shouldn't snap like that. It's just..." she takes in a shaky breath, giving Yuri her best attempt at a smile. "You know, touchy subject or whatever. It's... really fucking shit, but I try and get through it," there's an underlying addition to that sentence that goes unspoken yet not unnoticed between them both, and Yena thinks it's just as painfully obvious for her as it is for Yuri.

_I can't trust you enough yet to tell you why._

Something in Yena wants to trust Yuri. So fucking bad.

Yuri stands up straighter from where she was leaning against the rail, pushing her rounded specs higher up on her nose, and something in Yena begins to panic.

 _You need to tell her._ She urges herself.

"So you really go most nights without sleep?"

_You need to tell her that you can sleep when she's close._

"Uh... yeah,"

_You can't go another night. Not now._

"God..." Yuri looks like she's beginning to make a move. She pushes herself away from the railing, walking those few steps over towards the sliding door, reaching out and holding onto the handle. Yena watches her, feeling herself grow antsy, an insatiable itch worming and writhing underneath her skin.

"Yuri," Yena falls out before she can stop herself.

Yuri turns around, looking a little surprised, but her face is expectant.

"I..." Yena trails off, trying to articulate the right words. "I slept well last night,"

Yuri raises an eyebrow, almost as if to say _no you didn't._

"After I woke up," Yena clarifies. "Usually I find it really hard to fall back asleep after waking up, if I even manage to fall asleep in the first place," she swallows thickly. "Just so you... Yeah," her sentence dies out pathetically, hoping that Yuri will and won't understand her at the same time.

But, Yuri seems to get the gist of it, realisation dawning on her. She nods slowly, lips parted in thought. "Ah," is all she says for a few moments. "Well," she pauses again, and then, a radiant smile illuminates her features, and Yena's breath gets caught in her throat at the sight. "You're welcome in here anytime,"

Yena smiles back at her, sure it's nowhere near as blinding, but she gives it her best shot.

Yuri still doesn't step inside from the balcony, hand lingering on the handle. Her eyes dart around hesitantly, looking as though she's contemplating something but isn't all too sure what to say. It takes her awhile, but eventually she sucks in a breath, and stands up straighter. "You... still talk in your sleep,"

Ah. Yena thinks she knows where this is going. For a brief moment, the scent of peaches and apples permeate the air.

 _You mean_ nothing _to her!_

"Who are Yiren and Sihyeon?"

At that, Yena forces herself to stare back out at the skyline again, where the sky meets the sea, and it's all just this dull haze of grey.

"Sometimes, I don't even know anymore," 


	20. Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena sees love up close.

"Hey! Yena, right?"

Yena turns from where she'd been walking down the corridor, in the direction of her room after eating breakfast. She's faced with Chaewon and Minju, Chaewon waving a hand at her to stop walking as they catch up with her. Yena gives them blank looks, keeping her guard up, but not totally closed off. These two seem alright, after all. So, Yena slowly nods. "Yeah,"

Minju gives her a smile, one that sits on her lips annoyingly perfectly. "I'm Minju, this is Chaewon," she jabs her thumb in Chaewon's direction.

"I know,"

Chaewon lets out a snort. "Eloquent," she throws a casual arm over Yena's shoulders, like they've known each other for years. "But, that's exactly why we're here,"

Yena gives her a funny look, leaning away from her slightly. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you an offer," Minju chirps from somewhere on Yena's left. "You can say no, if you want, but it's just an idea,"

"We're thinking of forming a little... alliance," Chaewon starts off slow, beginning to walk and towing Yena along with her. "I don't know about you, but Minju and I think this entire fucking thing is... to be frank, shady as fuck. Agree or disagree?"

Yena regards her, for a moment, mind quickly catching up to comprehend Chaewon's bluntess. The girl simply blinks at her, with wide, piercing eyes, and for a moment it's like the air around the three of them tenses. Yena thinks back to what Yuri had told her, about Chaewon's power, about how much of it she holds. Before, Yena had never really seen it, with her petite frame and child-like haircut, but now, with Chaewon's gaze almost tearing through her, Yena definitely gets it now. "Agree,"

Chaewon seems satisfied with her answer, giving Yena one sharp bob of her head and a quick hum of approval. "And also..." she trails off, looking around to make sure they're alone, before dropping her voice down to a whisper. "A certain Kang Hyewon doesn't seem the most trustworthy,"

Yena nods again, signals for her to keep talking.

Chaewon shrugs. "And you know, the bottom line is that this is a competition. So we both think that, while we can, we should help each other out as much as possible,"

Yena arches a brow. "And what happens when we reach the point where everyone else is gone and it's only us left?"

Chaewon purses her lips, thinking for a moment before replying. "Well, then it's everyone for themselves, isn't it?"

"Well not for you two. You've both known each other for a while, haven't you?"

Chaewon gives her a dry smile, one that doesn't reach her eyes, retracting her arm from around Yena's shoulders. "We're offering you an alliance," she stands up a little straighter, and pushes her pointer finger into Yena's chest. "Not a friendship,"

Yena tenses, gritting her teeth once Chaewon's finger presses into her, not hard enough to sting, but with enough pressure for her to get her point across. She immediately reacts, hand flying up to grip at Chaewon's wrist.

Minju seems to pick up on the tension immediately, hovering next to them with concern etched into her soft, pretty features. She murmurs a meek little "Chaewonie,", and almost immediately Chaewon's finger seems to slack. Breaking eye contact, Yena lets Chaewon's wrist go. Chaewon gives her head a jolt to the side, like she's trying to regain herself, and seems to mellow out as soon as Minju's hand brushes against her arm.

Minju looks at Yena then, with an indecipherable expression on her face, Yena can't really make out what she's feeling. "Think about it," she says. "I think we can all agree that there's a few things about this entire situation that aren't right. Not only is it to help each other progress in the competition, but..." she trails off, face contorting into something uncomfortable. "But to keep us safe too. None of us know where they took those two guys who were eliminated. They said that they'd send them back home, but-"

"But the dock's been empty for days," Yena finishes off her sentence for her, and Chaewon gives her a look that says she's mildly impressed.

"You noticed too,"

Yena bobs her head. "Everything about this place doesn't sit with me, like, at all. And if they aren't sending the people they eliminate home by boat, then that must mean they're keeping us here. That means that they plan to keep every single one of us here, except for the winner,"

"If even," Minju adds. "Who's to say that Yeongsik will keep his word? Who's to say that anything that comes out of his mouth is fact?"

Yena had never really considered that, and it doesn't take much for her to figure out why. She _wants_ to believe that at the end of this thing will be a reward, some way for her to break out of the lifestyle she's been thrown into, a feeble way for her to pretend that she can turn back the clock to when everything was alright. She clicks her tongue. "And it's not like we can just leave. Sakura made that much clear,"

Chaewon grimaces. "There's something about her too that I don't like. And she seems... seems like she knows Hyewon? Like she's too friendly with her. Hyewon was on top of that tower before any of us, and she was outside the arena with Sakura whilst were all inside fucking... ballroom dancing," she visibly cringes at the memory.

"Hyewon said something to Yuri and I, actually," Yena remembers to moment on top of the skyscraper, Hyewon looking at them both with a smug expression smeared on her usually stoic face. "She said it like, how we should've taken advantage of Sakura before she could," she specifically says the word _we_ , to save her from her own embarrassment caused by how attracted she was to Sakura at first. "I think it means that she's got Sakura to help her out now. I mean, for all we know, she could already know what's happening with the team round and be planning for it as we speak,"

Minju frowns, crossing her arms and looking up at the ceiling in thought. "But why would Sakura want to help her out? She strikes me as someone smart, what would she gain out of helping Hyewon?"

Her question lingers in the air, for a few moments, Yena thinking about it and sure Chaewon is doing the same, but coming up with nothing. "I don't know," she admits. "But I definitely agree, I don't think her intentions are innocent at all,"

"And I doubt Hyewon cares all that much. If it's something to get her ahead for now, I think she'd welcome it," she shrugs then, lips quirking. "Plus, lets be honest. Sakura is very pretty. I don't think Hyewon sees that as a downside either,"

Minju stands up straighter at that, like a puppy that had just heard its name being called. Her bottom lip juts out, crossing her arms. Yena swears she hears her mumble the words "So am I," under her breath. She tries her best not to smile.

Chaewon's lips twitch into the smallest of smiles, but other than that she doesn't react. "So anyways, that's it really. If you ever figure anything out or have anything to say, you have to share it with us. Or else, this whole alliance thing won't really work,"

Yena nods. She doesn't really know how to feel about sharing everything, details that could possibly get her ahead, but if it's going to save her skin for now then she isn't complaining. "Who else is in this thing?"

Minju, seemingly having recovered from her little internal conflict with herself, answers for her. "Well you're the first person we asked, so right now just the three of us," she gestures at their small group. "But you've been hanging out with that girl, Yuri right?" When Yena nods, she continues. "Mention it to her as well. Explain why we're doing it, why we're so cynical,"

"Sure thing," Yena dusts herself down, pretending to have something to do to avoid Chaewon's piercing gaze. "Can I go now?" She isn't just saying that part, she kind of wants to go back to sleep.

Chaewon lets out a snort of laughter at that, reaching out and clapping Yena on the back. "You're something else, you know that?" Her words tail off on a giggle, and it's only then that Yena realises how sweet her voice sounds, like honey is lathered over her words. It wouldn't be hard for her to convince people of things, Yena thinks.

It takes her a couple moments for it to come to her attention that it looks like they've come to what she's guessing is Minju's room, her hand resting gently on the golden doorknob when she stops walking. She gives the both of them another attempt at a half-smile, and a bob of her head. "Thanks again for letting me know about this, I'll tell Yuri about it too," she pauses, then gestures for Chaewon's wrist. "Sorry for... yeah. That probably hurt,"

Chaewon grins. "Probably not as much as I hurt you,"

Yena relaxes a little, knowing that they're both over it already. "Well, I'll see you around, I guess," she turns to walk away, and notices that Chaewon has made absolutely no attempt at leaving for her own room. The thought makes her smile despite herself.

"Actually,"

Yena halts once she feels Chaewon grip at her arm, then takes a few steps back so that she's facing her again, and raises an eyebrow questioningly. Chaewon lets go of her arm, casting her a look with a narrower gaze. "Come inside, actually,"

Yena's eyes widen. "What?"

"Oh shush," Chaewon ushers her inside once Minju locks the door, ignoring Yena's protests and closing the door behind them.

"Is this really necessary? I'm tired," Yena huffs out, well and truly not lying. But then again, she's always tired, although today, not as much as usual, thanks to Yuri. She feels a flush spread down her neck despite herself.

"I just don't want people to hear," Chaewon speaks under her breath, sharing a look with Minju and nodding, and Yena swears that they're telepathic or something. "We were gonna go looking around tonight,"

Yena narrows her eyes. "But the rules. We can't go out past a certain time,"

Minju shrugs, lips quirked. "No guards outside our doors," she says. "There's nothing stopping us really, as long as we don't get caught,"

Yena lets out a soft, short breath of laughter. "Shit, you guys aren't as bad as I thought. What are we hoping to find?"

Chaewon gives her an overly sweet smile. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that first part. We..." she trails off, looking at Minju, and that freaky telepathic shit happens again. "...don't know really. We're just looking to see if there's anything we can find that could be if use to us in anyway. Who knows what we'll see," she pauses before continuing. "But we'll have to go late, if we don't wanna get caught. Something like part midnight. You in?"

Yena grimaces internally. She doesn't really know if she can, considering how exhausted she already knows she'll be, but her pride is too strong for her to back out. "Sure. Sounds like fun," she adds the last remark dryly.

"And you can let Yuri know too. No one else though, anymore that four and we'll be like bulls in a china shop," Minju says.

Yena mentally cringes again, but nods regardless. "Ok. Can I really go now? I'm being held hostage here,"

While Minju shoots her an apologetic look, Chaewon rolls her eyes. "What a fucking drama queen, damn," the slight playfulness in her tone lets Yena know that she's not entirely serious. She opens the door unceremoniously for her, gesturing out into the hallway. "Off you go then,"

Yena steps out into the corridor, giving Minju a smile. "Nice meeting you, Minju,"

Minju beams back at her, ignoring Chaewon's obvious groan. "You too,"

"You," Chaewon points a finger at her. "I'll beat you up for real, next time,"

Yena begins to walk away, waving a hand at her. "I'd like to see you try!" She calls out over her shoulder, snickering once she hears Chaewon grumbling again, and then, the sound of a the door shutting behind her.


	21. Burning Bridges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena learns something new.

Yena peeks her head around the corner, checking to make sure it's clear, squinting into the eerily silent darkness to scan for any kind of movement. Once she's sure that the corridor is empty, she looks back over her shoulder at Yuri, Chaewon, and Minju gesturing for the three of them to follow her. They press themselves close to the wall, to maintain out of sight as much as possible, treading slowly and quietly with light footsteps. In the inky blackness, the all of the hallways look almost identical, seeming as though each time they reach the end of one, the clock rewinds and they're back at the start again.

Yuri hadn't been to keen on Chaewon and Minju's plan.

Her nose and scrunched up, fiddling with her fingers when Yena had told her about it from her own balcony, Yuri stood on her own one respectively. "I don't know..." she trailed off, looking doubtful. "I don't think anything good would come out of it, we'd most likely get caught. Plus, you should probably rest, Yena,"

"You're right, I probably should," Yena felt herself growing defensive, almost a natural instinct at this stage whenever someone tells her what to do. "There's probably a lot of things I should do, but I'd rather not, thanks,"

Yuri had opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, looking like she was trying to get the words out but constantly second-guessing herself, before finally giving up and heaving a soft, gentle sigh. A small smile played on her lips, shoulders sagging as she looked down at her feet. "You're really persistent, you know that?"

Yena had thrown her an awkward smile as an apology. "In all the wrong ways. I'm sorry, it sounded a lot less shitty in my head,"

Yuri only shrugged again. "It's fine. Although, I haven't changed your mind, have I?"

Yena clicked her tongue, looking out at where the docks bled into the city. "No," she admits after a beat too long of silence. "I want to know what's going on here. I want to know what this place is, and why they're keeping us here when we get eliminated. And I've gotta start somewhere, so,"

Yuri's smile had grown bigger, then. "I like that about you," she said, leaning over the railing, her soft brown hair falling over her shoulders. "You're no nonsense. Straight to the point. If you want something done, do it yourself,"

Yena tried not to let Yuri's words get comfy inside her head, forcing down the flush growing in her cheeks by looking back out at the city again, pushing herself away from the railing, only to catch herself, repeating the process over and over as a way to distract herself. She may look a bit childlike, but at least it's working. Probably. Hopefully. "So are you coming or not?" the words tumbled out of her mouth much too fast, changing the subject before she could dwell on things too much, and if Yuri had noticed, she didn't say anything.

"Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Yuri began her make her way back into her room. "Knock on my window or something whenever you're leaving. _Quietly_. Unlike you, I actually need rest in order to function,"

Yena had watched her with a strange feeling flitting around inside her head as she'd gone back inside, the same thing she feels now as she senses the other girl pressed up close behind her, breath warm on the back of Yena's neck as they move forward silently. The four of them are headed in no particular direction, never having really gone anywhere other than the main arena, the dorms, and the entrance. From the outside, the place is huge, easily larger than a football stadium, so it's not too much of a wild guess to assume that there's more to this building than just the arena itself.

They tread along quietly, navigating through the darkness, and at some point in between the times that Yena had turned around, Chaewon and Minju's fingers had become interlaced. Yena doesn't think about it much, or about the fact that Yuri is pressed up so close behind her, or anything really. Just keeps on moving forward and focusing on the task at hand. Defintely.

They haven't been going for too long, maybe around fifteen minutes or so, but with everything going by so slowly Yena hasn't an inkling where about they could be. Eventually however, when they reach a corner, Yena looks beyond it to see a stout, yet burly man standing in front of a door, similar in stature and shape to those that had been on the boat they'd arrived to the island on. Immediately, she slinks back around the corner, pressing her back up against the wall. Her gaze reaches Chaewon's first, who doesn't even have to morph her expression into anything particular in order for her to ask what's going on.

 _Guard_ , Yena mouths, and all she's met with is a confused look. So, leaning in, she drops her tone and speaks under her breath in a whisper. "It's like a T-junction," she explains, gesturing vaguely. "The left turn leads to a door, it's guarded. Just one guy. The right just leads off into another hallway," she points in the direction of where the corridor stretches off to the right, visible from where they're stood,"

"So no matter where we go, we'll be seen," Minju breathes out, looking dejected. "We have to go back and try another way,"

"No way," Chaewon hisses, jaw set determinedly. She tugs Minju's hand closer to her. "We just have to distract him is all,"

Mind whirring a mile a minute, Yena's eyes dart to Yuri's, and Yuri's to Yena's. It's almost as if the same thought passes through their mind, all within the time frame of a single moment. Yena knits her eyebrows together once she sees a look of conviction flash boldly over Yuri's features. "Can you?"

Yuri nods once, edging past her slowly, gaze fixated on the right hand turn. "I can try,"

Yena watches intently as Yuri concentrates, Minju and Chaewon peering at her with silent curiosity. Yena can't see whatever it is that Yuri's doing, but she does eventually catch sight of the guard once he comes into view. The four girls press themselves up against the wall, Yena's chest tight as she hardly dares to breathe. The guard walks by, almost painfully slow, a confused look on his face before a look of realisation flows over his swine-like features. His pace picks up, and soon he's out of their sight. None of them move, however, until his trudging footsteps have faded into complete and utter silence.

Gingerly, Yuri peeks out, standing on her toes to get a better look, and Yena subconsciously grips at her shirt to stop her from falling over. Yuri breathes out a gentle sigh of relief, turning back to face the rest of them with a grin. "He's gone," she whispers, gesturing for the three of them to follow her. They creep out from behind their corner, where they're faced with the door that the guard had been keeping a (sort of) watchful eye on. Minju lets out a small hum of triumph once it opens with ease, pushing down on the handle painfully slow to make as little noise as possible.

Before she can stop herself, Yena taps Yuri on the shoulder just before they slip through the door. Yuri turns to look at her almost immediately. "You okay?"

Yena tilts her head in the direction that the guard had walked in before melting into the dark. "What did you make him see?"

"Yeongsik," Yuri answers quickly, like she'd been anticipating Yena would ask. "I didn't get him quite right, I don't think, but I'm lucky since it was dark," she grins, taking a hold of Yena's arm and giving it a gentle tug. "C'mon, let's keep moving,"

They follow Chaewon and Minju through the door, Yena taking care to gently shut it behind her. They're plunged into blackness, not a window in sight. At least before Yena could vaguely make out the other's faces, but now she can't even see her own hand when she waves it in front of her face. With a sharp flick of her wrist, a small flame erupts in the palm of her hand, emitting a soft, orange glow and illuminating the room.

Her eyes take a small fraction of a second to adjust to the light, blinking, and then immediately opens her mouth to let out a yelp. A hand is clamped sharply over her lips, muffling any noise that threatens to come out.

Eunbi is standing in front of her, face close, eyes telling Yena everything she needs to know. _Be quiet._

Yena stands, frozen to the spot, trying to regain her facial expression from surprised to neutral. The others are stood still too, for what exact reason Yena isn't sure, not breaking away from Eunbi's gaze boring into hers.

And then, she hears voices. They're quiet, and she can't make out what they're saying, but there's definitely voices. They're coming from behind yet another door, one Yena can just about make out from behind Eunbi's shoulder and off to the side. The door is placed in a way so that if someone were to come out of it and walk straight, they wouldn't be seen, however if they were to turn the corner, then the five of them would be caught.

Eunbi waves a hand to grab everyone's attention, taking her hand away from Yena's mouth as the voices increase in volume, more than one person talking at once. She moves to press herself up against the wall, everyone else slowly following suit. The door isn't in their line of sight anymore, but since they've moved that small bit closer, but when she strains, Yena can just about make out who's speaking.

"We'll keep you updated, but for now, that's all you need to know. You won't need to come back here for a while,"

Yena catches Minju's eye, the other girl mouthing _Sakura_ at her and the others. Yena nods.

Next to her, Eunbi's fingers brush over the palm of her hand, causing Yena to instinctively shudder at the ticklish feeling, before a faint hissing sounds cuts through the silence like a knife through cheese. The light is immediately snuffed out, the small, candle-sized flame being extinguished within moments. Yena's hand feels a little damp. She scowls, before relighting the tip of her finger and holding it between them, just out of spite. She hears Eunbi snort softly, but she pays her no mind, focusing in on what's being said again.

"Just remember, your team is on the bridge race," That's Yeongsik's voice, Yena recognising it instantly. "I know we initially said you were climbing, but we had to switch. Choi Yena's ability to burn through the bridges, both literally and figuratively, would make for a... less interesting time,"

At the mention of her name, everyone turns to look at Yena. Yena herself isn't too sure how to feel about it, so she swallows it down, avoiding all of their gazes. Literally and figuratively. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thinks that Yeongsik isn't wrong.

However, another part of her brain picks apart what else he'd said. _Your team is on the bridge race._ She thinks to herself. _That must be for the next task. Which means Yuri and I are..._ she grimaces in the darkness. _Climbing._

There's faint shuffling noises, a chair scraping against wood. "Leaving so soon?" Sakura chirps.

She's met with a hum, and a faint murmur of "'m tired," from a third party, a voice too quiet for Yena to recognise. She barely even hears it. She's too busy pondering over who it could be that she only just notices in time that the sound of footsteps are approaching the door, the sound of a door handle being pushed down.

"Shit," Yena breathes out, pressing her back up against the wall and the others following suit, holding onto her breath like it's her last. She squeezes her eyes shut and balls her fists as the door slowly opens, the footsteps pausing momentarily.

"Which way is it to go back again?" a low, feminine, voice drones, soft, yet not in a welcoming sort of way.

Yena opens her eyes. She _knows_ that voice. _Please don't come this way_ runs around inside her head like some sort of incantation, her lips moving vaguely around the words like an attempt at speaking them into existence.

"Straight," comes Sakura's lilting voice. "I mean, you could go round the corner, but the guards are there since there's no passcode on the door. They're so mean and unfriendly, no fun at all," she sounds much too upset over such a minor issue, and considering the fact that they're guards means they're not really supposed to _be_ friendly, but to be honest Yena's kind of given up when it comes to figuring out Sakura at this stage.

Another hum comes from the voice of the person who's leaving, with a tone so familiar but Yena just can't put her finger on it. It's like having a word on the tip of your tongue, it's there and you're so ready to just spit it out, but at the same time it couldn't be further away.

Thankfully, whoever it is, she decides to go straight like Sakura had advised, her footsteps slowly but surely becoming quieter. In the dark, Yena sees someone shift - the swift slice of long hair through the black telling her that it's Minju. Minju moves to look around the corner, peeking out just the smallest bit, and a barely audible gasp tumbles from her lips. "Look!" she hisses at them over her shoulder almost silently, gesturing for them to join her.

Yena lights the tiniest of fires on her fingertip, half to piss of Eunbi, half because the darkness is driving her mildly insane, and joins the others in peering down the length of the corridor.

And there, walking down the hallway, is none other than-

"Hyewon," Eunbi whispers.

Yena turns around to shoot her what she'll probably look back on as a very unjustified glare.

Interrupting her internal monologue like that. Rude.

Eunbi only blinks at her, confused.

Yuri turns back around to face Yena, so Yena does the same, sure she feels her hair hitting against something that feels suspiciously face-like in the process. Eunbi sounds like she's trying not to splutter. Must just be a coincidence.

Yena holds up her little flame to get a better look at Yuri's face, the girl looking absolutely astounded. "She's actually _with_ them," she whispers, so quiet, Yena straining to hear her even with their close proximity. "Sakura is helping her because they literally know each other!" she frowns to herself, nodding slowly. "Sakura told me that Hyewon was the one they knew the least about. To make it seem like she wasn't connected to them that's why! They have her in here as a mole, everything she figures out about us goes right back to-"

"Shh!" Chaewon places a finger to her lips, instantly shutting Yuri up. "She's putting in the passcode,"

Yena stills again, as does Yuri, and Yena finds her eyes absent-mindedly wandering over the other girl's face. She tells herself that now isn't really the best time for that, but her brain doesn't seem very interested. Over the sounds of everyone's collective hearing, Yena hears the sound of Hyewon pressing the buttons on the padlock. Four, different noted _beeps_ ring out, eerily loud as they echo in the quiet. The short melody ends before Yena's even registered that it's become, and it's when she hears a door open and then shut that she realises she's already forgotten what the melody even was.

Luckily for her, she isn't alone. Which... is a concept she hasn't experienced in a long while. She doesn't really know how to feel about it.

Chaewon hums the tune under her breath, just four different notes, and Minju does the same. They share another one of those weird looks with each other, like they're having an entire conversation with one another in the space of a few moments with just their eyes. "We'll remember it," Minju speaks, prolonging her gaze with Chaewon for a moment longer before turning back to face the rest of them. "But we'll have to work together if we're gonna figure it out,"

"That sounds like great fun and all," Eunbi intervenes. "But I'm assuming you guys came here for the same reason I did, and that's to dig for information. We all got what we came for, but if we stay out here any longer we're gonna get caught, and-"

"Do you hear something?" It's Yeongsik. All of them freeze up, before, Eunbi begins to make her way towards the door that they came through.

"Hm?" Sakura again. "No. It's probably just Hyewon making a racket. She's got too much pride for her own good,"

Yena follows Eunbi through the door, slipping through the small gap. The others follow suit, walking on their toes as if they were wading through shards of glass.

"Do you really like her, that much?"

Yena's just able to hear Sakura scoff before Chaewon closes the door behind her.

"Oh, she wishes,"


	22. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yena doesn’t know where she stands.

_Yena hoists herself up on top of the wall, gripping onto it with both hands to steady herself, crouched down low before slowly straightening up. Keeping her knees bent and posture stooped, she carefully begins to walk across the top of the wall, arms spread like she's on a tightrope._

_"Ok, now whatever you do, do not fall!" Sihyeon hisses at her from where she's stood on the ground with Yiren beneath Yena._

_Yena only barely catches the words, too focused on maintaining her balance, on watching where exactly her footing is. She swallows thickly, the ground, not even that far below her, seeming to shift and sway like she's on a seesaw. She really fucking hates climbing. "Thanks," she bites out, a warranted response for Sihyeon's not-so-helpful advice. "Remind me again why Yiren isn't doing this? She's the acrobat,"_

_"Because this is way funnier," is Yiren's amused reply. "I never realised that you're afraid of climbing, darling,"_

_"Not afraid," Yena snaps, way too quickly. "Just... not very fond of,"_

_"Right," Yiren doesn't sound very convinced. "And I'm not very fond of being ugly. Which is why you're doing me a massive favour and saving me from possibly ruining my favourite shirt,"_

_"Then why wear it in the first place?" Yena doesn't even know what she's asking at this stage, she's just keeping Yiren talking so that she herself can stay distracted._

_"Because you and Sihyeonie like when I dress up," Yiren retorts without hesitation, the pout of her lips evident in her tone, and Yena tilts her head._

_Well, she isn't wrong._

_Focusing back at the task at hand, Yena stops just short of the gate on her right, the one that she got onto the wall to climb over in the first place. She hunkers down again, brushing the top of the gate with her fingertips, before throwing Yiren and Sihyeon a sheepish look over her shoulder. "I'm sort of stuck,"_

_While Yiren coos dramatically, Sihyeon shoots her an unimpressed look. "You're kidding me,"_

_"I am fully serious,"_

_"Just jump down!"_

_"I am going to die,"_

_"Damn, now I've got two drama queens to deal with,"_

_Yiren opens her mouth to retaliate, before whatever she seems to have been wanting to say dies on her tongue. It's a sign that she agrees with what Sihyeon says. She returns her attention to Yena, who knows that the ground isn't that far beneath her, but the thought doesn't really do much to quell the unrest that bubbles low in her stomach. Yiren shoots her a reassuring smile, walking forward on the grass so that she's stood right next to the section of the wall where Yena is crouched on top of. "Don't mind her," she whispers, loud enough for Sihyeon to hear, but her smile is warm and kind and Yena wonders for what must be the millionth time what the fuck she's doing with people like herself and Sihyeon. "If you want to come down I'll help you, mmkay? I think you can do it, but if you don't want to it's alright,"_

_So, so kind._

_Yena brushes her offer away, no matter how tempting it may seem, she's got a bit of a reputation to uphold. "No, you're right," she moves to sit down, swinging her legs around and letting them dangle off the edge. With her legs closer to the ground, it makes the jump a little less daunting. "I can do it,"_

_Bracing her hands on the wall either side of her, Yena does her best to convince herself that it's really not all that bad. Scrunching up her nose, she decides that if she doesn't just go for it, she's never going to, so without putting any thought or consideration into it before she can psych herself out, she pushes herself off the wall._

_Embarrassingly enough, an involuntary yelp tumbles past her lips, and somewhere in the back of her mind she registers breathy laughter. She doesn't even know what's happened, but one minute she's sat on the wall, and the next she's on the ground, crouched down with her hands splayed out on the ground to cushion her fall. Almost instantly, a dull pain spreads around her ankle, causing her to scrunch up her face in discomfort, but she manages to keep quiet. Well, even though the pain paired with the swooping sensation in her stomach when she fell had been what she'd been expecting, that hadn't made things any easier._

_"Yena?" it's Sihyeon who calls out to her from the other side of the gate. "You okay?"_

_"Yeah!" Yena replies quickly, standing up and giving her ankle a shake as if to dispel the pain from it. "I'll try and get it open now, hold on," giving her head a quick tilt to the side, she hones her attention in on the lock on the gate that's preventing Yiren and Sihyeon from coming over onto this side. Fishing around inside her back pocket, she produces the key they'd found around the other side of the house with a quiet hum of triumph, the one that Sihyeon had seen her neighbour place beneath a flower pot earlier on that day. Inserting it into the lock, it's stiff with rust and holds up for a few moments, before a small click echos in the quiet of the night, and with one push, the gate swings open._

_Sihyeon and Yena beam at her, and the sight makes Yena a little delirious. Sihyeon slings her arm over her shoulder, and Yena is unable to prevent a smile of her own that spreads across her lips. "You're gonna be the eighth James Bond," she wipes her hand dramatically across the sky as they begin to walk down the side of the house._

_Yena quirks a brow. "You didn't believe in me, like, five seconds ago,"_

_Sihyeon purses her lips together, looking like she's thinking. "Well yeah, but you didn't either, so,"_

_"Oh my gosh, who cares?" Yiren grumbles, pushing her way through the two of them so that she's in the middle. It immediately seems to put her at ease, leaning into Sihyeon's arm that's still holding onto Yena's shoulder._

_Yena can't help but laugh. "What, the conversation isn't about you for five seconds so you interrupt ours?"_

_Yiren turns her head to look at her, leaning in that bit closer so that her breath fans out across Yena's cheeks. "It's always about me," her voice is sly._

_Sihyeon clicks her tongue. "Brat,"_

_Yiren breaks out of her hold, walking a few paces ahead before turning around to walk backwards, shooting Sihyeon a wink. "You know it," she turns back around again, walking in front of them, at a slightly faster pace to get ahead._

_Yena keeps her eyes glued to her, which is usually Yiren's reasoning behind most of the things that she does, doing them just so that Yena's and Sihyeon's eyes are on her. Her long, dark hair falls over her shoulders in a sleek stream of black, the pale moonlight tinting her skin a shade paler than how it would be in the sunlight. Yena fully intends to give into what Yiren wants and stare at her for a bit longer, but then-_

_Sihyeon just kisses her._

_Without any warning, no heads up, she does nothing that might lead up to her intentions, just takes a gentle hold of Yena's jaw, and turns her head to place a soft kiss on her lips._

_It doesn't last very long, and doesn't go very far, but it's enough to make Yena immediately stop in her tracks. She doesn't pull away, hell, she definitely wouldn't have complained if Sihyeon had prolonged it, she's just simply taken aback._

_Spontaneous kisses are Yiren's thing. She needs attention, affection - lots of it - and kisses and random back hugs and demands for being in the middle are all just a part of being with her. Sihyeon is different in the sense that her affection is spared. She gives it (fuck, Yena thinks, she gives it), but never under normal circumstances like this. Not when they're simply walking, without even having said something to might lead up to it._

_Yena blinks at her when she pulls away, eyes searching her face for something that might give her any reasoning behind her spontaneity._

_This is so Sihyeon, she thinks to herself. Just when she thinks that she's got her all figured out, she pulls shit like this that makes Yena second guess herself all over again._

_So, when Sihyeon doesn't look like she's about to make any effort at explaining herself, Yena heaves a sigh. "Are you really gonna make me ask?"_

_Sihyeon hums out a low drone of laughter, one that sounds amused, wrapping her arm around Yena's shoulders again. She turns her head so that they're nose to nose, and Yena has to use every ounce of will that she's got keep her breathing in check. "You look really good,” she finally replies. Her gaze darts from Yena’s eyes and down at her form, before quickly snapping back up again. Her lips quirk smugly. “I suppose I couldn’t help myself,”_

_Yena, while internally feeling herself grow hot, scoffs, shaking her head. “You’re fucking unbelievable,”_

_“One of many adjectives,”_

_“Could you two stop being married for like, two seconds?” Yiren hisses at them from the other end of the passageway, arms crossed and waiting for them impatiently._

_Yena’s caught off guard again when Sihyeon leans in to kiss her cheek quickly, before retracting her arm from Yena’s shoulders in favour of linking their fingers together._

_They catch up with Yiren, who has her fingers wrapped around the corner of the house, the corner that continues the side passageway to the right. “Have you seen it?” Yena whispers as they approach her, Yiren peeking round the corner._

_“It’s fucking massive, look,” Yiren gestures over her shoulder for them to follow her line of sight, which Yena and Sihyeon do._

_The house’s back garden can’t be described in any way other than how Yiren did - fucking massive. Even in the dark of the night, Yena can tell that it’s one of those you’d see on TV, with lush grass and teeming rows of hedges and flowers so orderly and perfect you’d think they were plastic. Tentatively, the three of them round the corner, keeping their steps light and their whispers hushed, keeping close together as usual. "So if it's anything like my house..." Sihyeon trails off, her fingertips dragging along the white exterior of the house before she stops, her fingertips snagging on something. She pushes down with a satisfied hum, Yena's eyes just about able to make out the blurred outline of a button in the darkness, a soft clicking noise emitting from it._

_Instantly, the garden is lit up; small landscape lights dotting the edges of the flowerbeds glow warm hues of gold, and white, circular lights embedded into the deck that cuts out from the house contrasting with cool tones. What really catches Yena's eyes though, is the large, rectangular pool situated near the back of the garden, illuminated by lights beneath the water, and she instantly turns to face Sihyeon and Yiren. They're sharing a mischievous look with one another, before turning back to Yena with glimmering eyes._

_Yena widens her eyes, shaking her head. "We are not," she says, eyes darting over to the pool, and back to them again. "You're serious? That's what we're here for?"_

_"We are!" Yiren sing-songs, taking a hold of Yena's hand, dragging her across the lawn._

_She drags Yena over to the pool, Sihyeon following close behind, letting go of her hand in favour of going to stand by the edge, her face lighting up at the sight of the glowing water shifting gently. The translucent reflections are cast onto her face in writhing wisps of light, drawing out the child like excitement in her eyes. “I was gonna wait, but I have to go in,”_

_Yena averts her gaze as Yiren peels her shirt off over her head, then throwing it somewhere near her feet, choosing to look at Sihyeon instead. This is a mistake in itself, because Sihyeon immediately catches on, wiggling her eyebrows, so Yena scrunches up her face and narrows her eyes, flipping her off._

_Turning back to Yiren, she watches with an all-too familiar sense of fondness as the girl crouches down, propping her elbow on her knees and cupping her chin with one hand, and using the other to trail her hand through the water. Yena can't imagine it's very warm, probably freezing in fact, but the summer night is blisteringly hot and the idea of cooling off is admittedly very appealing._

_Yiren voices pretty much what Yena was thinking, looking over her shoulder at the both of them. “It’s nice and cold,” she says, her eyes then darting between them both suspiciously. “What’re you smiling about?”_

_Sihyeon looks way too smug, so Yena looks away from them both, taking a sudden interest in the specks of dirt on her worn, dingy shoes._

_“Yena just thinks you’re beautiful,”_

_Because she’s curious, Yena peeks through the strands of hair that fall in front of her eyes, just to see Yiren’s reaction. She sees the girl acting nonchalant, a neutral expression on her face, but not even the cool lighting of the pool can do much to hidethe redness of her cheeks. “And what do you think?” the question is directed at Sihyeon._

_Yena presses her lips together, doing her best to suppress her grin. Even when embarrassed, Yiren still manages to keep up her branding of being absolutely shameless._

_“Think of what?”_

_“You know exactly what,”_

_There’s a pause, a pause Yena hadn’t been expecting, and suddenly suppressing that smile isn’t so hard anymore. She knows Yiren wants a response, knows exactly what response she wants, it’s why she asked in the first place. But the beat of silence is too long, and for a fraction of a second, there’s tension in the air._

_Sihyeon then lets out a short puff of laughter. “You know exactly what I think. Don’t make me say it aloud,”_

_Why wouldn’t you? Yena thinks to herself, gaze drifting back over to Yiren, who’s doing her best to keep her expression neutral, but it’s impossible to keep the disappointment from tainting her soft, doe-like features. There’s more silence, which is so unlike them, so out of the ordinary because there’s always something that someone has to say, yet it doesn’t surprise Yena either._

_Yiren eventually speaks up again, shaking her hair away from her face and doing that thing where her smile reaches her eyes. “Push me in?”_

_Sihyeon relaxes a little, raising a brow and her lips quirking. “What?”_

_Yiren looks out at the water. “I don’t think I’ll ever muster up the courage to voluntarily take the first plunge. It’s always bitterly cold,” she lets out a forced laugh, then turns back to Sihyeon again, manicured fingernails tapping into the flesh of her own cheek. “So, push me in?”_

_Yena sits herself down on the small set of steps that lead up to the outdoor dining area, resting her chin in her hands and watching them both melancholically. Yiren’s trying so hard to smooth things over, like smothering thick layers of icing over a cake that’s falling apart to hide its cracks, the way it crumbles. She’s open like a book, her feelings and emotions lying bare for everyone to see, the opposite of Sihyeon. Yena can never read her, never knows what’s going on inside her head, and even though she knows her place within he three of them, she can’t help but be curious._

_They’re an awful pairing. Sure, they get along like a house on fire, and bounce off one another in a way that could only come with years of knowing one another, but they’re eating one another alive. It’s slow, but it’s there, and Yena’s sure that they’re both aware of it, and she definitely knows that neither of them care._

_Sihyeon walks up behind Yiren, placing her hands on her back. Yiren shivers._

_“On the count of three?” Sihyeon’s voice has dropped, and even though she knows she’s not, Yena can’t help but feel intrusive._

_Yiren hums in response, and then inhales shakily._

_Yena tilts her head. Sihyeon and Yiren don’t love each other, not in a romantic sense at least, but it’s not like there’s nothing there at all. But it’s nothing like friendship, it’s more than that, which automatically rules out acquaintances. Yet what they have runs too deep for it to be called a casual hookup._

_“One, two-”_

_Yena swallows. It’s like they own each other._

_Before Yiren can count to three, Sihyeon has already pushed her in, and Yena instinctively leans back and scrunches up her face as a reaction, a smile breaking onto her lips. Yiren lands in the pool with a splash, a shriek leaving her mouth that gets cut off the moment she’s submerged into the depths, and Sihyeon’s laughter rings out. And, Yena quickly realises, so does her own._

_Yiren quickly resurfaces, gasping in a breath and pushing her long, dark hair back from her face. She pushes her hands underneath the water in little figure of eights to keep herself buoyant, her lips immediately drawing into a pout. “Sihyeon_ ie, _” she whines, which only makes Sihyeon laugh harder. “I said on three!”_

_“I know, I know,” Sihyeon just about manages to speak through her breathless chuckles. “But I just couldn’t resist- hey!”_

_Yena does nothing to control her laughter this time, standing up and cackling, clapping her hands as Yiren reaches out and grabs onto Sihyeon’s ankle, tugging hard so that she falls into the pool just like Yiren had done. Sihyeon lets out a very not-Sihyeon-like scream, and Yena’s bent over double with how much she’s laughing._

_When Sihyeon comes up, she doesn’t look too pleased. She immediately looks down at her shirt, which is obviously completely soaked through, clinging to her like a second skin. She throws Yiren a horrified look. “Since when do you not give me time to strip?”_

_Yena snorts. To be honest, it’s a good question._

_But Yiren, keeping her bratty image alive and well, sticks out her tongue mockingly. “Ever since you decided not to play by the rules,”_

_It’s then that both of their eyes wander over to Yena, and Yena knows them well enough to catch the glimmer in their eyes and to know exactly what it means. “Okay, okay, I’m coming, don’t worry,” she says hastily, not wanting to be pulled in before she’s ready. She pushes away from the wall, pulling her shirt over her head and shaking out her hair, and somewhere beneath her she hears Yiren sigh._

_Yena bundles her shirt into a ball and grips it in her hand, raising a brow at her as if to say_ really?

_Yiren bites her tongue in between her teeth, grinning. “You’re pretty, darling. Just accept it,”_

_Yena squats down at the ledge of the pool, so that her line of sight is just above Yiren’s. She hits her on the side of the head with her shirt in the most non-threatening manner she can imagine, but Yiren still recoils dramatically like she’d been shot or something. “Try looking in the mirror sometime,” Yena comments dryly, as if it were an insult of some kind, but it very clearly isn’t._

_She sits on the pool’s edge, submerging her legs in the water, shivering when the cool liquid reaches just beneath her knees. She lets Yiren’s whining and muttering wash over her with a smile, and by the looks of things, Sihyeon is doing the same._

_She watches them, for a while, content with being sat in the edge as they bicker and laugh and occasionally splash water on her (she keeps a monotonous expression on her face as Yiren paddles over to her and cups water into both of her hands before pouring it directly onto her shorts. It only makes Yiren giggle endearingly, which had been the only reason Yena had done it in the first place)._

_It’s times like this that Yena wonders how on earth she could ever think that either of them could do anyone any harm. When they’re laughing and smiling at her so innocently and she thinks how the fuck she could ever think that they might hurt her. But even thinking like that, even looking at them in this light, brings her some sort of pain. It’s a part of the deal, no matter how good they make her feel, no matter how high she gets on their presence, there’s always a drop, a bad aftertaste in her mouth, a discomfort in the back of her mind that just won’t go away._

_And even though she knows she’s not supposed to, she cares for them. And she wonders how on earth she’s supposed to save them from each other._

_Tears prick at Yena’s eyes. It’s odd because she doesn’t think she’s ever cried in front of them before. Yet here she is now, in the most unlikely of circumstances, with her eyes stinging whilst watching the other two with both trying to submerge the other._

_If Yiren notices, when she pushes herself out of the water to kiss her, water dripping all over her and the glide of her lips wet, that Yena’s eyes are glistening, she doesn’t say anything._

_She manages to hold them at bay until the light turns on in the main bedroom of the house, until there’s a gruff male voice yelling at them, until they’re scrambling to get a way and running out of the garden, until Yena wonders to herself for just how much longer she’s going to allow these two girls to destroy her._

“You think Hyewon works for them?”

“It’s the only logical explanation,” Eunbi shrugs. “Why else would Sakura and Yeongsik favour her? As a contestant, she has nothing to offer that the rest of us don’t. Plus, it would be a way for them to have eyes and ears amongst us without seeming suspicious,”

Yena frowns from her position on Chaewon’s bed, fiddling with a loose thread on the quilt. They’re scattered around the room, Yuri sitting cross legged on the table, Eunbi leaning against the wall, and both Chaewon and Minju day on the other end of the bed. “They said something about Hyewon’s team being on the bridge,” she looks at Chaewon. “You’re on the same team as her, right? As a trio?”

Chaewon hums in reply. “Yeah. I mean, we’re assuming it’s the next task, right?” She turns to Minju. “Who did you say the rest of the teams are?”

Minju purses her lips, looking like she’s trying to jog her memory. “Well you, Hyewon, and Hyeongjun are one trio,” she counts on her fingers. “And then the other one is me, you-" she points at Eunbi. “And... she trails off, throwing Eunbi a questioning look. “What’s his name again?”

“Dongpyo?” Eunbi guesses, and Minju snaps her fingers.

“That’s it. So the two on twos are you two,” she gestures between Yuri and Yena. “Right?”

Both of them nod.

“Which leaves you against...” she trails off again, thinking before Yuri pipes up.

“Wooseok and Seungyeon,”

“Yeah, them,”

Yena leans back against the pillows, crossing one leg over the other. “You being in with Hyewon is good,” she says, speaking to Chaewon. “Even if we don’t directly figure everything out, it’s bound to give us a lead on something,”

“And speaking of leads, that code,” Eunbi adds. “We need to figure out what it is. If it gains us access to protected areas, then we can figure out exactly what it is that needs protecting,”

Yuri lets out a small little scoff. “God like, what even is this?” She says with a soft laugh, shaking her head. “A week ago, I did not expect to be sat here, plotting the downfall of some old magician and his pretty assistant,”

Eunbi snorts. “Well I mean when you put it like that, yeah,” she smiles, the shrugs. “I mean to be honest, as crazy as it sounds, if we were to travel back in time, and if Sakura were to ask us again whether or not we wanted to participate... I’d say yes again. Like I had no clue anyone like me existed, and I was just so anxious that people would find out that I just blocked people out completely,” she looks at them sheepishly, like she’s afraid she’s said too much. “I mean, yeah this is kind of weird, maybe scary, but I’ve always been looking for something more,”

Yena tilts her head, giving her a funny look because that’s... that’s exactly how she feels. “Same,”

“Same with us, actually,” Minju pikes up. “Well, we, uh,” she coughs into her sleeve. “We knew each other before this,” she says that part quickly, rushing to get the words out of her mouth. “But everything else...” she trails off giving Chaewon that fucking look again, and Yena is fully convinced at this stage that they can read each other’s minds. “I think we’re the same, I don’t think we’d go back,”

“I mean realistically...” Chaewon looks up at the ceiling. “You guys have all heard the story of this place, right? Like this is where we belong, it’s literally where we’re meant to be,” she pauses, like she’s thinking over her words. “But whatever it is this guy is doing, it still doesn’t sit right with me. And the fact that it’s not sitting right with any of us just proves it even more,” she turns to look at Yuri, then. “What about- oh,”

Yuri blinks at her. “What?”

Chaewon gestures vaguely at her own face. “Your nose...”

Yuri only stares at her blankly, for a few moments, before catching on, standing up immediately and covering her nose with her hand. “Shit, sorry,” she laughs awkwardly. “I get nosebleeds from time to time,” she gestures in the direction of Chaewon’s bathroom. “Do you mind if I..?”

Chaewon waves a hand at her lazily. “Go for it,” she says. “None of that shit is mine anyways,”

Yena vaguely registers that the three of them continue on with the conversation, whatever it is, as Yuri bustles into the bathroom to tend to her nose. But all Yena can focus on is the view she has of Yuri through the thin gap between the door and the doorframe, watching as the girl hits her head on the mirror over the sink, before letting it rest there.


End file.
